TSMC’s overseas fabrication strategy is beginning to deliver its intended return: not immediate cost parity with Taiwan, but manufacturable geographic redundancy, closer integration with major customers and access to subsidized capacity in strategically important markets. Arizona and Kumamoto are already producing … Read More
How TSMC Is Wiring the AI Era With Light
TSMC’s photonics strategy is centered on integrating optical input-output with advanced logic, rather than selling conventional optical transceivers as standalone products. The company is developing a silicon-photonics foundry platform and a packaging architecture called TSMC-COUPE, or Compact Universal Photonic … Read More
The Twelve-Month Rule Does Not Describe a New Fab
By Nikhil Shah
Capital spending is often treated as if it becomes semiconductor capacity about twelve months later. That can be a useful rule for equipment installed in an existing fab. It is a poor description of a new fab built from the ground up.
I tested the distinction using five advanced-node projects in the United States where… Read More
A 0.42-Nanometer Breakthrough From TSMC Could Push Transistors Beyond Silicon
Researchers at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University and TSMC Corporate Research engineered a 0.42-nanometer aluminum-oxide interface that protects electron transport in monolayer MoS₂ transistors while enabling strong gate control.
Silicon transistors are approaching physical limits that make each new generation… Read More
Intel and TSMC Take Different Paths to High-NA EUV
Intel and TSMC are pursuing the same objective—manufacturing smaller, faster, and more energy-efficient semiconductors—but they have adopted different strategies for advanced lithography. Intel moved early to develop High-Numerical-Aperture Extreme Ultraviolet lithography, commonly called High-NA EUV, while TSMC… Read More
Executive Interview with James Huang of AlChip
I had a chance sit down with James Huang, Director of Engineering at Alchip Technologies, to discuss the company’s recent multi-die packaging achievements and learn about Alchip’s next steps in pushing the boundaries of innovation for next generation AI ASIC.
James is acknowledged as a leading light in advanced node ASICs, based… Read More
The Difference Between TSMC CoWoS-S and CoWoS-R
CoWoS-S and CoWoS-R are two versions of TSMC’s Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate advanced packaging platform. Both technologies are designed to combine high-performance processors, chiplets and high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, within a single package. This shortens the electrical connections between computing and memory components,… Read More
TSMC CoPoS Versus Intel EMIB Semiconductor Packaging
TSMC’s CoPoS, generally described as Chip-on-Panel-on-Substrate, and Intel’s EMIB, or Embedded Multi-die Interconnect Bridge, address the same strategic problem: integrating increasingly large, heterogeneous chiplet systems. However, they attack different physical constraints. CoPoS is an emerging panel-level … Read More
The Silicon Shield Has Never Been Stronger!
The “Silicon Shield” describes the idea that Taiwan’s central role in advanced semiconductor manufacturing raises the economic and strategic cost of military action against the island. The shield is not a literal defense system. It is a form of structural deterrence created by technological concentration: governments and… Read More
TSMC CoWoS versus Intel EMIB Semiconductor Packaging
There has been talk at the latest conferences about TSMC customers taking wafers to Intel for packaging. The question is why? Is it competitive pricing? Capacity? Supply chain diversity? CC Wei was asked about this during the last investor call and his perfect response was:
Jeff Su: I guess very simply put, EMIB-T, in his view, is… Read More

