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TMSC announces new N4X process

This article appeared on wccftech anouncing a new
process for high speed computing (HPC).



Risk production starts first half 2023. Fast
switching obviously requires more drive (voltage)
so drive voltage can be increased 1.4V.

I think TMSC has reqlized there is more to computing
than Video and computer games.
Semiconductor manufacturers and foundries are constantly releasing new products based on new designs and new manufacturing processes every year all the time. In TSMC's case, they typically starts HVM based on their newest process technology for mobile related applications first. The "mobile" nature requires good performance and low power usage. After the mobile application, other "less" volume but still important products, such as HPC (high performance computing), will follow. That's nothing to do with "admitting" a "slower" product released previously. They are merely different product lines for different applications and different customers.


 
Thanks. Can you list the various products from TMSC for I think its highest volume
7nm process(es?).
 
Can you list the various products from TMSC for I think its highest volume 7nm process(es?).
The main process line includes incremental improvements, which are typically part of PDK releases for >1.0 (meaning PDK1.1, 1.2, etc). Since N6 can be backwards compatible to base N7 design rules, just printed with some EUV layers, the assumption should be that all new tape-outs are effectively on "N6" whether they use EUV or not, but TSMC will continue to produce designs from the first PDK1.0 as long as there is demand. We saw that with the Apple A12"Z" parts that shipped >12 months later but are identical to the A12X that launched end of 2018. N7+ is a different set of DRs and doesn't strictly speaking carry forward to N6, but to date only one product has shipped on that node that I'm aware of (Kirin 990 5G).

Apple should have had lion's share of N7 releases in 2018/2019 followed by HiSilicon, and then AMD. For 2020/21 though, I assume AMD is leading the consumption of N7/6 wafers since their entire portfolio of CPU chiplets, APUs, Console processors, dGPUs, etc are all on this node (and Apple has shifted to N5, and HiSilicon is SOL). Mediatek (including N6) and Qualcomm are probably vying for 2nd place, but that's speculation. Majority of NVidia's products were either N16 based or now on Samsung (save for GA100 which is N7).
 
Thanks. Are cell phone companies going to use faster 1.4V processes?
 
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