TSMC begins trial production of 3nm process

TSMC has been very busy this year. In the context of a global shortage of chips, TSMC not only needs to make more capital expenditures to build new fabs but is also busy producing full-scale production for various contract customers. On the other hand, TSMC’s 3nm process research and development work are also in full swing, and now it seems that the 3nm process is about to be officially launched.

According to DigiTimes, TSMC has begun trial production of the 3nm process. The trial production means that TSMC is ready. If all goes well, the 3nm process will begin mass production, but analysts predict that TSMC may not be able to mass-produce the 3nm process until the end of 2022.

Coincidentally, Nvidia’s RTX40 series graphics cards are also expected to be available from the second half of 2022 to the end of the year. Nvidia is unlikely to go directly to the 3nm process so soon. However, we don’t know whether TSMC’s production capacity will affect Nvidia’s stable supply.

Apple is still the first to use the 3nm process if there are no accidents. TSMC will naturally give priority to guaranteeing Apple’s supply. Therefore, the iPhone 14 series using the 3nm process is firmly established.

At present, the chip shortage problem has not been effectively alleviated. Even if the foundries are already running at full capacity, the supply chain delivery time is delayed by 3 to 4 weeks. The chip delivery time in some industries can even be as long as several months. Some analysts predict that the chip shortage problem will be alleviated in the second half of next year.