Latest news with #NorthAmericaTechnologySymposium
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
TSMC Is Targeting 2028 for Its A14 1.4nm Process
Hoo boy. Things are about to get tricky when talking about chip technologies. That's because TSMC finally made good on its promise to change its name structure for sub-2nm chips to one Apple already uses for its own processors. TSMC is going from its N naming convention—as in, N2, its 2nm process—to A for chips smaller than 2nm. The first of these will be A16 and A14, the latter of which TSMC just highlighted at the North America Technology Symposium. That's the upcoming 1.4nm process, which is not to be confused with Apple's A14 Bionic SoC. (Apple's chip appears in some older iPhones and is not made with a sub-nm process.) Perhaps worse is that Intel also uses the A naming structure—and for the same reason TSMC adopted it. The A in Intel's highly anticipated new A18, 1.8nm-class process stands for Angstrom, a unit of measurement suited to the ever-shrinking die processes. TSMC says that the A14 process will be a vast improvement compared with the N2 process. A14 offers as much as 15% faster speed than N2. And to top it off, A14 uses significantly less power, up to 30% less, than N2. TSMC plans to make chips for automotive, IoT, and smartphone uses, and will support N4C RF in N2 chips. And, of course, TSMC expects N2 to be picked up in large quantities for AI use. The company will have 9.5 reticle size Chip on Wafer on Substrate (CoWoS) tech, supporting 12+ HBM stacks, by 2027. TSMC Fab 21. Credit: TSMC 'TSMC's cutting-edge logic technologies like A14 are part of a comprehensive suite of solutions that connect the physical and digital worlds to unleash our customers' innovation for advancing the AI future,' TSMC CEO Dr. C.C. Wei said in a statement. Don't expect to see A14 chips for a few years, though, with N2 hitting its stride and A16s on target for mass production in 2026. Chips based on the A16 process (not to be confused with Apple's 4nm A16 SoCs, also likely made in Arizona) will most likely reach the data center market in early 2027. The A16 process will be TSMC's first to include backside power delivery, also known as Super Power Rail, which allows for better performance and energy efficiency. It seems likely that TSMC will make at least some of its A14 wafers in the US, given that it already plans to make Fab 21 (its Arizona campus) sub-2nm capable in the coming years.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Chipmaker TSMC's new A14 process will apparently offer a '15% speed improvement' but our GPUs won't be made on it for a while
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. TSMC, the world's biggest chipmaker, has just announced another process node which will almost certainly, amongst an undoubted slew of AI chips, be used to make some of our gaming GPUs and CPUs in the future. This next-gen process is 'A14', meaning 14 angstroms or 1.4 nanometres or really, really small. This was announced yesterday at TSMC's North America Technology Symposium, and the company says the process "is designed to drive AI transformation forward by delivering faster computing and greater power efficiency." TSMC was already the world's biggest chipmaker even before all this AI business started to really kick off, but ever since then, it's a company name, alongside Nvidia, that's on a ton of people's lips. Naturally, then, talk of its upcoming process nodes will be of interest to many people, but we PC gamers can throw our hats into that pool of interested onlookers, too. That's because TSMC makes lots of the chips that end up in some of the best gaming CPUs and best graphics cards, whether from AMD, Nvidia, or even Intel. Currently, for instance, Nvidia RTX 50-series GPUs are made predominantly on TSMC's 4 nm node, and the same goes for AMD's Ryzen 9000-series processors. Intel's Arrow Lake chips look to now be made exclusively by TSMC, too, ever since Intel killed its 20A process last year. The newly announced A14 node is planned for 2028. Compared with its upcoming N2 process (set for later this year), TSMC says "A14 will offer up to 15% speed improvement at the same power, or up to 30% power reduction at the same speed, along with more than 20% increase in logic density." Although it's a few years away, I can't help but get a little excited about new processes. That's primarily because we've seen with the RTX 50-series GPUS just how unexciting a new GPU generation can be if it doesn't come off the back of a new process node (the RTX 50 series is on the same process as the RTX 40 series). That being said, Nvidia doesn't usually use bleeding-edge nodes for its GPUs, and we'll be more likely to see AMD and Apple chips made using A14 to begin with. A14 won't have backside power delivery until 2029, either, according to our colleagues at Tom's Hardware. Backside power delivery essentially moves power interconnects to the underside of the chip, reducing inference and the distance that power has to travel, thereby increasing efficiency and performance. Your next upgrade Best CPU for gaming: The top chips from Intel and gaming motherboard: The right graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher SSD for gaming: Get into the game ahead of the rest. We expect to see backside power delivery (AKA 'Super Power Rail') from TSMC first with A16 in 2026. Intel's ahead in this game, however, as its 18A process already has backside power delivery and is ready to go as of two months ago. As for whether this A14 production will also make an appearance in the US, as well as from TSMC's Taiwan fabs, it seems like it might. I'm basing this on the company's recent earnings call, in which the company claimed that six fabs are planned in Arizona: "In that six fab, the 2-nanometer will be a major node, and that's what I say, 30% will be there. As time goes by, after the 2-nanometer will be 1.4 and 1.0, that has not been discussed yet." This was in response to a question about what percentage of future leading nodes will come from the US vs from Taiwan, and to my ears it seems like TSMC is saying 1.4 and 1.0 will come from the US, but the percentage hasn't been discussed yet. Whatever the case, here's to some healthy progress in process nodes across the board, whether from TSMC, Intel, or anyone else. Architectural and AI changes aside, raw performance increases are a direct result of transistor density, and we can all get behind that.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
TSMC Unveils Next-Generation A14 Process at North America Technology Symposium
Showcasing TSMC's latest offerings for high performance computing, smartphone, automotive, and IoT applications SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 23, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TSMC (TWSE: 2330, NYSE: TSM) today unveiled its next cutting-edge logic process technology, A14, at the Company's North America Technology Symposium. Representing a significant advancement from TSMC's industry-leading N2 process, A14 is designed to drive AI transformation forward by delivering faster computing and greater power efficiency. It is also expected to enhance smartphones by improving their on-board AI capabilities, making them even smarter. Planned to enter production in 2028, the current A14 development is progressing smoothly with yield performance ahead of schedule. Compared with the N2 process, which is about to enter volume production later this year, A14 will offer up to 15% speed improvement at the same power, or up to 30% power reduction at the same speed, along with more than 20% increase in logic density. Leveraging the Company's experience in design-technology co-optimization for nanosheet transistor, TSMC is also evolving its TSMC NanoFlex™ standard cell architecture to NanoFlex™ Pro, enabling greater performance, power efficiency and design flexibility. "Our customers constantly look to the future, and TSMC's technology leadership and manufacturing excellence provides them with a dependable roadmap for their innovations," said TSMC Chairman and CEO Dr. C.C. Wei. "TSMC's cutting-edge logic technologies like A14 are part of a comprehensive suite of solutions that connect the physical and digital worlds to unleash our customers' innovation for advancing the AI future." In addition to A14, TSMC also debuted new logic, specialty, advanced packaging and 3D chip stacking technologies, each contributing to broad technology platforms in High Performance Computing (HPC), Smartphone, Automotive, and Internet of Things (IoT). These offerings are designed to equip customers with a comprehensive suite of interconnected technologies to drive their product innovations. They include: High Performance Computing TSMC continues to advance its Chip on Wafer on Substrate (CoWoS®) technology to address AI's insatiable need for more logic and high-bandwidth memory (HBM). The company plans to bring 9.5 reticle size CoWoS to volume production in 2027, enabling integration of 12 HBM stacks or more in a package together with TSMC's leading-edge logic technology. After showcasing its revolutionary System-on-Wafer (TSMC-SoW™) technology in 2024, TSMC followed up with SoW-X, a CoWoS-based offering to create a wafer-sized system with computing power 40X the current CoWoS solution. Volume production is scheduled for 2027. TSMC offers a host of solutions to compliment the sheer computing power and efficiency of its logic technologies. These include silicon photonics integration with TSMC's Compact Universal Photonic Engine (COUPE™), N12 and N3 logic base die for HBM4, and a new Integrated Voltage Regulator (IVR) for AI with 5X vertical power density delivery compared with a separate power management chip on the circuit board. Smartphone TSMC is supporting AI on edge devices and its need for high-speed, low-latency wireless connectivity to move massive data with N4C RF, the latest generation of TSMC's radio frequency technology. N4C RF delivers 30% power and area reduction versus N6RF+, making it ideal for packing more digital content into RF system-on-chip designs to meet the requirements of emerging standards such as WiFi8 and AI-rich True Wireless Stereo. It is scheduled to enter risk production in first quarter of 2026. Automotive Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Autonomous Vehicles (AV) pose stringent demands for computing power with no compromise on automotive-grade quality and reliability. TSMC is meeting customers' needs with the most advanced N3A process going through the final stage of AEC-Q100 Grade-1 qualification, and continuous defect improvement to meet Automotive defective parts per million (DPPM) requirements. N3A is entering production for automotive applications, joining a full suite of technologies for future software-defined vehicles. Internet of Things As everyday electronics and appliances adopt AI functionality, IoT applications are taking on greater computational tasks while remaining on a slim budget for battery power. With TSMC's previously announced ultra-low power N6e process now in production, the company is targeting N4e to continue pushing the envelope of power efficiency for future edge AIs. TSMC's North America Technology Symposium in Santa Clara, California, is the Company's flagship customer event of the year, with more than 2,500 people registered to attend. At the symposium, TSMC not only updates customers on its latest technology developments, it also provides start-up customers with an "Innovation Zone" to showcase their unique products, as well as opportunities to pitch to potential investors. The North America symposium also kicks off a series of Technology Symposiums around the world in the coming months. About TSMC TSMC pioneered the pure-play foundry business model when it was founded in 1987, and has been the world's leading dedicated semiconductor foundry ever since. The Company supports a thriving ecosystem of global customers and partners with the industry's leading process technologies and portfolio of design enablement solutions to unleash innovation for the global semiconductor industry. With global operations spanning Asia, Europe, and North America, TSMC serves as a committed corporate citizen around the world. TSMC deployed 288 distinct process technologies and manufactured 11,878 products for 522 customers in 2024 by providing the broadest range of advanced, specialty and advanced packaging technology services. The Company is headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan. For more information, please visit View source version on Contacts TSMC Spokesperson: Wendell HuangSenior Vice President and CFOTel: 886-3-505-5901 TSMC Media Contacts: Nina KaoHead of Public RelationsTel: 886-3-563-6688 ext.7125036Mobile: 886-988-239-163E-Mail: press@ Will MossPublic RelationsMobile: 1 (408) 712-9691E-Mail: press@ Michael KramerPublic RelationsTel: 886-3-563-6688 ext. 7125031Mobile: 886-988-931-352E-Mail: press@ Sign in to access your portfolio
