NVIDIA's AI chip is slated to enter mass production at TSMC's US site by the end of this year, suggests a new report from the Taiwanese press. TSMC's Arizona fab, which started producing chips earlier this year, is the bedrock of the firm's manufacturing presence in the US. Analysts suggest that the site can reach complete capacity utilization soon as the Taiwanese firm contends with orders from major American technology companies, including NVIDIA, Apple, Qualcomm, AMD and Broadcom. Reports of strong demand at the Arizona site are accompanied by others who share that TSMC's yield for its leading-edge 2-nanometer process has exceeded 90% for memory products.
TSMC's Arizona Site Close To 100% Capacity Utilization With Orders From Apple, NVIDIA & Others Flowing In
According to a report in the Taiwanese press, Apple continues to be TSMC's largest customer in its Arizona site and will be the first to receive chips from the plant. TSMC is currently producing its N4 chips in Arizona. N4 is for chips branded 5-nanometer and 4-nanometer, and according to the details, NVIDIA's AI chips are currently undergoing process verification at the US site. These chips will enter production by the end of this year, suggest sources.
Reports of booming demand at the Arizona site are accompanied by others who share that the factory could increase chip prices by as much as 30%. Industry insiders believe higher US manufacturing costs are to blame for the price hikes. They might also be driven by high capacity utilization at the plant, with Nobunaga Chai of Cloud Express holding the opinion that the Arizona facility is producing 15,000 12-inch wafers per month and will expand its capacity to 24,000 soon, the facility's peak capacity.
As it racks up orders for its Arizona site, TSMC is also making strong progress with its 2-nanometer chip manufacturing process. According to the Taiwanese press, the firm has achieved yields greater than 90% for its leading-edge technology. Yields refer to the percentage of usable chips in a silicon wafer, and higher yields mean that chip manufacturers do not have to absorb the costs of manufacturing defective products.
The high yields are for memory products, with TSMC receiving four times the tape-outs for its 2-nanometer process over the 5-nanometer node. A tape-out is a finalized chip design, which is the last stage of the process before manufacturing. Analysts are using revenue and demand for wafer-cutting and polishing companies as a proxy to ascertain the demand for TSMC's 2-nanometer and 3-nanometer processes.
Two firms, namely the Kinik Company and Phoenix Silicon International Corporation, are experiencing greater demand for their diamond disc tools. According to market reports, Kinik holds a 70% market share for TSMC's 3-nanometer process technology. The firm has increased its monthly production capacity to 50,000 discs, with sources adding that as TSMC increases 2-nanometer production, its disc revenue will mark sequential (quarter-over-quarter) growth.
Diamond discs are part of a process in chip manufacturing called Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP). Chip manufacturers employ the discs to ensure that wafer surfaces are free of impurities before manufacturing and to remove excess materials after billions of tiny circuits have been printed on a wafer to create chips.
TSMC Crosses 90% 2nm Yields, Arizona US Plant Close To 100% Capacity With NVIDIA's AI Chip Slated For Production - Reports
The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is set to achieve full capacity utilization at its Arizona fab, says report.
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