TSMC to Expand Capacity for Mature and Specialty Nodes by 50%:
TSMC this afternoon has disclosed that it will expand its production capacity for mature and specialized nodes by about 50% by 2025. The plan includes building numerous new fabs in Taiwan, Japan, and China. The move will further intensify competition between TSMC and such contract makers of chips as GlobalFoundries, UMC, and SMIC.
When we talk about silicon lithography here at AnandTech, we mostly cover leading-edge nodes used produce advanced CPUs, GPUs, and mobile SoCs, as these are devices that drive progress forward. But there are hundreds of device types that are made on mature or specialized process technologies that are used alongside those sophisticated processors, or power emerging smart devices that have a significant impact on our daily lives and have gained importance in the recent years. The demand for various computing and smart devices in the recent years has exploded by so much that this has provoked a global chip supply crisis, which in turn has impacted automotive, consumer electronics, PC, and numerous adjacent industries.
Modern smartphones, smart home appliances, and PCs already use dozens of chips and sensors, and the number (and complexity) of these chips is only increasing. These parts use more advanced specialty nodes, which is one of the reason why companies like TSMC will have to expand their production capacities of otherwise "old" nodes to meet growing demand in the coming years.
But there is another market that is about to explode: smart cars. Cars already use hundreds of chips, and semiconductor content is growing for vehicles. There are estimates that several years down the road the number of chips per car will be about 1,500 units – and someone will have to make them. Which is why TSMC rivals GlobalFoundries and SMIC have been increasing investments in new capacities in the last couple of years.
[...] With its common platform approach for mature nodes as well as specialized technologies, and 50% more capacity, TSMC will be able to offer the world more chips for smart and connected devices in the coming years. Furthermore, it will also benefit TSMC by significantly increasing the company's revenues from mature and specialized nodes, as well as increasing pressure on their rivals.
I would have thought it would be attractive for new companies to fill the "mature" technology void by producing chips under license on older equipment. Does technology move so fast that it isn't profitable to work under that kind of model?
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 01 2022, @03:14AM
Buy new desktops and laptops early and often, before the island gets seized in 2025.
(Score: 2) by Spamalope on Monday August 01 2022, @04:51PM (1 child)
"The plan includes building numerous new fabs in Taiwan, Japan, and China."
With the threats to invade/attack, why would they be building in China?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 02 2022, @02:07AM
> why would they be building in China?
As noted in another topic today, one word:
greed
and to elaborate, likely chips made in China would be primarily sold into the Chinese market.