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Samsung's Exynos 2600 Hits 30% Yield on 2nm Process--A Step Toward Closing the Gap with TSMC

benb

Well-known member
Samsung is making strides in semiconductor technology with its Exynos 2600, built on the company’s advanced 2nm Gate-All-Around (GAA) process. Recent reports indicate that the trial production run has achieved a 30% yield—a significant improvement for Samsung, though still behind TSMC’s impressive 60% yield for its own 2nm process.

Why This Matters for Samsung

The semiconductor industry is highly competitive, and manufacturing efficiency is a key factor in maintaining an edge. Despite trailing behind TSMC, Samsung’s 30% yield marks a notable improvement, especially considering its struggles with 3nm production. A higher yield means more functional chips per wafer, leading to better efficiency and cost-effectiveness. While 30% is far from the industry-expected 70% required to attract big customers like Qualcomm and MediaTek, it signals positive momentum for Samsung’s semiconductor division.

Samsung’s foundry business has faced challenges in gaining the trust of major clients due to previous yield issues, particularly with its 4nm and 3nm nodes. However, the 2nm process is a chance for the company to rebuild its reputation. If the yield continues to improve, Samsung could secure orders for flagship mobile processors, AI chips, and high-performance computing components in the near future.

Exynos 2600: A Game Changer?

The Exynos 2600, codenamed ‘Ulysses,’ is expected to power Samsung’s next-generation flagship devices, potentially making a return to more premium smartphone models. With the company currently relying on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite for its Galaxy S25 series, improving its in-house chip production could significantly cut costs and reduce dependency on external suppliers.

Samsung has been working to make Exynos processors more competitive by optimizing power efficiency, thermal management, and overall performance. The 2nm GAA process introduces significant enhancements over the previous generation, promising better transistor efficiency and improved performance per watt.

Beyond smartphones, Samsung’s advancements in chip manufacturing could have broader implications for AI, automotive, and data center applications. As demand for high-performance and energy-efficient processors continues to grow, the ability to mass-produce cutting-edge chips will be a crucial factor in Samsung’s long-term success.

Challenges and Opportunities

Although the 30% yield is a step forward, Samsung still faces significant challenges before it can compete directly with TSMC in high-volume chip manufacturing. The company needs to:
  • Improve Yield Efficiency: Reaching the 70% yield mark is crucial to securing large-scale orders from major tech companies.
  • Strengthen Client Trust: Overcoming past production setbacks and demonstrating consistency will help attract major customers.
  • Expand Production Capacity: Ensuring that its facilities are prepared for mass production without compromising quality will be vital for scaling up.
  • Advance GAA Technology: While Samsung is ahead of TSMC in adopting GAA, it must optimize its implementation to maximize benefits.
Despite these hurdles, Samsung’s continued investment in semiconductor R&D and infrastructure indicates that it is committed to competing at the highest level.

samsung exynos 2600 Samsung’s Exynos 2600 Hits 30% Yield on 2nm Process—A Step Toward Closing the Gap with TSMC

What’s Next?

Samsung is set to begin mass production of its 2nm SF2 process in the second half of 2025. Compared to SF3, SF2 boasts a 12% performance boost, 25% better power efficiency, and a 5% reduction in area. These improvements could make the Exynos 2600 more competitive, increasing its appeal for high-end smartphones and other advanced computing applications.

If Samsung can push its yield closer to TSMC’s levels, it could re-enter the competitive foundry space and regain lost market share. The company’s long-term goal is to become a dominant force in semiconductor manufacturing, rivaling TSMC and even Intel in the coming years.

Final Thoughts

While Samsung has a long way to go before its 2nm process becomes a commercial success, achieving a 30% yield is a step in the right direction. If the company can continue optimizing its technology, it may soon rival TSMC and secure major chip manufacturing contracts in the near future.

The semiconductor race is far from over, and with rapid technological advancements, the landscape could shift in Samsung’s favor. Stay tuned as the battle for semiconductor supremacy heats up!

TECHNOLOGY
 
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Does anyone understand that yield as a percentage is meaningless without figuring die size and amount of logic, cache, redundancy.

What matters is the defect density of the process and how much is random and what is systematic and the process window for the systematic.

If you’d quote the % yield of a Blackwell die you Md come to the conclusion TSMC N4 process was in horrible shape
 
Does anyone understand that yield as a percentage is meaningless without figuring die size and amount of logic, cache, redundancy.

What matters is the defect density of the process and how much is random and what is systematic and the process window for the systematic.

If you’d quote the % yield of a Blackwell die you Md come to the conclusion TSMC N4 process was in horrible shape
exactly
 
Bunch of meanies :)

Exynos 2600 and Exynos 2500 die size is not available.
Exynos 2400 die size is 137.4 square millimeters (mm2)
Snapdragon 8 Elite (Galaxy S25 chip) is 169.8 mm2 on N4

SF2 is smaller than N4, so the die size will likely be smaller, but if it has AMD graphics, it might be larger. Flagship chips are not small.

30% is not manufacturable, but for NPI that's great. Honestly. It's not statistically meaningful, just a few wafers most likely, but with so little to go on that is still really encouraging. They should be able to get the yields up above 50% by summer, and over time, if SF2 becomes a "real node", with more customers to learn on, it will continue to climb.

After 3 GAA nodes at Samsung Foundry, yield is more mature earlier in the ramp. It looks like Foundry is competitive again.
 
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