TSMC‘s US plant is about to start trial production

Source: Guoxin.com

    On December 21st, according to foreign media reports, TSMC‘s Fab21 factory in Arizona, USA is currently undergoing intensive equipment installation and commissioning, and has started the construction of small-scale trial production lines. Currently, it has received orders from three American customers.

    Industry insiders say that Fab21 factory plans to start trial production in the first quarter of 2024, mainly from orders from American customers.

    According to reports, among the current US customers of TSMC‘s Fab21 factory, there are indications that Intel will outsource core computing to TSMC‘s N3B process, in addition to Nvidia, and may place orders with the Fab21 factory.

    It is reported that TSMC announced the construction of a 12 inch wafer Fab21 in Arizona as early as 2020, and it is expected to begin formal equipment installation in the first quarter of 2024 and mass production before the end of 2024. The initial stage of Fab21 will be produced using a 5-nanometer process, with a monthly production capacity of 20000 wafers.

    TSMC later upgraded its initial process from 5 nanometers to 4 nanometers. However, due to the lack of skilled installation workers in the region, TSMC has postponed the start date of mass production to 2025.

    In addition, the second phase of the project is currently planned for mass production in 2026, introducing a 3-nanometer process. The total investment in these two stages is 40 billion US dollars.

    Industry insiders also acknowledge that the manufacturing cost of Fab21 is high, and its production capacity cannot compete with TSMC‘s existing factories. In addition, there are reports that the factory does not have packaging capabilities.