TSMC Aims for 7nm in 2017

Peter Clarke, Electronics360

May 4, 2015 -- Foundry chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC) is aiming for "risk production" of integrated circuits on a 7nm manufacturing process in 2017.

On April 16, while providing a technical update to financial analysts, Mark Liu, co-CEO of TSMC, said that the 7nm development program had begun in 2014 and collaboration activity had begun with several major customers. "The 7-nanometer technology risk production date is targeted at early 2017," says Liu.

Risk production is where TSMC's clients are running complete circuits, rather than test structures, but potentially still making changes to the process and/or the design to optimize performance and get yield up to commercially acceptable levels. Because the process is not finalized, such production is not guaranteed by TSMC and is at the customers' own risk.

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