Abstract:
Reuters quoted "The Information" as reporting on November 6 that TSMC is considering venturing into advanced memory manufacturing and plans to research and produce 3D DRAM. According to two people familiar with the matter, the plan was launched after Nvidia made a request, and the goal is to give TSMC a larger share of the artificial intelligence hardware supply chain. The report also stated that relevant work is led by Xu Guojin, deputy general manager in charge of advanced packaging business.
The rumored plans include building a new memory chip factory, or acquiring an existing factory and transforming it into a memory production line; there is no clear timetable for when production will start. 3D DRAM stacks memory cells vertically to increase the storage capacity per unit area, unlike current DRAM, which mainly manufactures memory cells in a planar structure. If implemented, TSMC will enter a market that has long been dominated by Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron.
However, TSMC later told Tom’s Hardware that the company has always focused on professional integrated circuit foundry, and its long-term goal is to provide technology and production capacity for the global logic chip industry. The response effectively denied the reported memory manufacturing plans; neither TSMC nor Nvidia immediately commented when asked by Reuters.
Related rumors come as demand for artificial intelligence data centers pushes up memory chip demand and prices, and chip design companies are looking for more supply sources. Although TSMC currently provides customers with advanced packaging and other services, manufacturing DRAM on its own will mean entering a new business field; at this stage, there is no public evidence that the company has decided to invest in or promote the mass production of 3D DRAM.
Comments