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TSMC Reveals 2nm Node: 30% More Performance by 2025

Accepted submission by upstart at 2022-06-17 16:13:23
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TSMC Reveals 2nm Node: 30% More Performance by 2025 [tomshardware.com]:

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. today officially introduced its N2 (2nm class) manufacturing technology, its first node that will use gate-all-around field-effect transistors (GAAFETs), at its 2022 TSMC Technology Symposium. The new fabrication process will offer a full-now performance and power benefits, but when it comes to transistor density, it will barely impress in 2025 when it comes online.

Being an all-new process technology platform, TSMC's N2 [tomshardware.com] brings in two essential innovations: nanosheet transistors (which is what TSMC calls its GAAFETs) and backside power rail that both serve the same goal of increasing performance-per-watt characteristics of the node. GAA nanosheet transistors feature channels surrounded by gates on all four sides, which reduces leakage; furthermore, their channels can be widened to increase drive current and boost performance or shrunken to minimize power consumption and cost. To feed these nanosheet transistors with enough power and now waste any of it, TSMC's N2 uses backside power delivery, which the foundry considers to be among the best solutions to fight resistances in the back-end-of-line (BEOL).

Indeed, when it comes to performance and power consumption, TSMC's nanosheet-based N2 node can boast of a 10% to 15% higher performance at the same power and complexity as well as a 25% to 30% lower power consumption at the same frequency and transistor count when compared to TSMC's N3E. However, the new node increases chip density by only around 1.1X compared to N3E.

N2 vs N3EN3E vs N5N3 vs N5N5 vs N7Speed Improvement @ Same Power10% ~ 15%+18%+10% ~ 15%+15%Power Reduction @ Same Speed-23% ~ -30%-34%-25% ~ -30%-30%Chip Density1.1X1.3X??HVM StartH2 2025Q2/Q3 2023H2 2022Q2 2022

In general, TSMC's N3 does offer full-node performance increases and power consumption reductions. But density-wise, the new technology can hardly impress. For example, TSMC's N3E node offers a 1.3X chip density increase over N5, which is a substantial increase. For justice, we need to note that TSMC uses somewhat convoluted 'chip density' metrics to describe transistor density on N3E and N2 in its materials published at its 2022 Technology Symposium. Chip density essentially describes a hypothetic chip consisting of 50% logic, 30% SRAM, and 20% analog circuits. Modern designs are very SRAM intensive, but SRAM barely scales, just like analog circuits; hence an N2 chip featuring 50% of circuits that do not scale will demonstrate mediocre scalability compared to an N3E IC. If compared to N3S, a transistor-density optimized version of N3, the result might be even less impressive.

TSMC positions its N2 for various applications, including mobile SoCs, high-performance CPUs, and GPUs. Among the features of the N2 platform (in addition to GAA nanosheet transistors and backside power rail), the world's No.1 foundry mentions 'chiplet integration,' which probably implies that many applications that will use N2 will also use multi-chiplet packages to optimize performance and costs.

As reported [tomshardware.com], TSMC will begin high-volume manufacturing of chips using its N2 node in the second half of 2025, so bearing in mind how long contemporary semiconductor production cycles are, expect commercial 2nm chips to emerge on the market only in late 2025 or instead in 2026. Of course, before now and in 2026, TSMC will offer a variety of N3 (3nm class) nodes, but this is a different story.

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Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions (opens in new tab) [futureplc.com] and Privacy Policy (opens in new tab) [futureplc.com] and are aged 16 or over.MOST POPULARMOST SHARED

  1. 1What Is TDP? A Basic Definition [tomshardware.com]
  2. 2What Is a CPU Core? A Basic Definition [tomshardware.com]
  3. 3BenQ Mobiuz EX3210U 4K Monitor Review: Big Screen, Big Color, Better HDR Contrast [tomshardware.com]
  4. 4Best Raspberry Pi Deals 2022 [tomshardware.com]
  5. 5Best 3D Printer Deals 2022 [tomshardware.com]
  1. 1What Is TDP? A Basic Definition [tomshardware.com]
  2. 2What Is a CPU Core? A Basic Definition [tomshardware.com]
  3. 3BenQ Mobiuz EX3210U 4K Monitor Review: Big Screen, Big Color, Better HDR Contrast [tomshardware.com]
  4. 4Best Raspberry Pi Deals 2022 [tomshardware.com]
  5. 5Best 3D Printer Deals 2022 [tomshardware.com]

Tom's Hardware is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab) [futureplc.com].

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Get instant access to breaking news, in-depth reviews and helpful tips.

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions (opens in new tab) [futureplc.com] and Privacy Policy (opens in new tab) [futureplc.com] and are aged 16 or over.MOST POPULARMOST SHARED

  1. 1What Is TDP? A Basic Definition [tomshardware.com]
  2. 2What Is a CPU Core? A Basic Definition [tomshardware.com]
  3. 3BenQ Mobiuz EX3210U 4K Monitor Review: Big Screen, Big Color, Better HDR Contrast [tomshardware.com]
  4. 4Best Raspberry Pi Deals 2022 [tomshardware.com]
  5. 5Best 3D Printer Deals 2022 [tomshardware.com]
  1. 1What Is TDP? A Basic Definition [tomshardware.com]
  2. 2What Is a CPU Core? A Basic Definition [tomshardware.com]
  3. 3BenQ Mobiuz EX3210U 4K Monitor Review: Big Screen, Big Color, Better HDR Contrast [tomshardware.com]
  4. 4Best Raspberry Pi Deals 2022 [tomshardware.com]
  5. 5Best 3D Printer Deals 2022 [tomshardware.com]

Tom's Hardware is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab) [futureplc.com].

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Get instant access to breaking news, in-depth reviews and helpful tips.

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions (opens in new tab) [futureplc.com] and Privacy Policy (opens in new tab) [futureplc.com] and are aged 16 or over.MOST POPULARMOST SHARED

  1. 1What Is TDP? A Basic Definition [tomshardware.com]
  2. 2What Is a CPU Core? A Basic Definition [tomshardware.com]
  3. 3BenQ Mobiuz EX3210U 4K Monitor Review: Big Screen, Big Color, Better HDR Contrast [tomshardware.com]
  4. 4Best Raspberry Pi Deals 2022 [tomshardware.com]
  5. 5Best 3D Printer Deals 2022 [tomshardware.com]
  1. 1What Is TDP? A Basic Definition [tomshardware.com]
  2. 2What Is a CPU Core? A Basic Definition [tomshardware.com]
  3. 3BenQ Mobiuz EX3210U 4K Monitor Review: Big Screen, Big Color, Better HDR Contrast [tomshardware.com]
  4. 4Best Raspberry Pi Deals 2022 [tomshardware.com]
  5. 5Best 3D Printer Deals 2022 [tomshardware.com]

Tom's Hardware is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab) [futureplc.com].

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

always-shrinking dept.

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