Currently, both Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) have achieved mass production on the 3nm process node. The former announced the mass production of the world's first 3nm process in June 2022, and the latter announced the launch of mass production of the 3nm process in December of the same year. The A17Pro equipped on Apple's latest iPhone15Pro series models uses this process.
According to ChosunBiz, although both Samsung and TSMC have mass-produced 3nm processes, both have encountered yield problems and are working hard to increase yield and output. Samsung uses the next generation GAA (Gate-All-Around) transistor technology on the 3nm process, while TSMC continues to use the original FinFET transistor technology. No matter what choices and choices are made, it seems that they have not escaped the same problem, and they have not achieved the expected yield rate at the new process node.
According to TSMC's plan, there are at least 5 different processes on the 3nm process node, 2 of which can be put into production, followed by N3P, N3X and N3AE. In contrast, the number of processes planned by Samsung is smaller, only 3, and only 1 is put into production, which is the process currently called 3GAE, and there will be 3GAP and 3GAP+ in the future.
It is understood that the current yield rates of Samsung and TSMC on the 3nm process are 60% and 50% respectively, which is obviously far from the 70% pass line. Judging from the paper data, Samsung's yield rate is higher, but the figures it is based on are limited to special chips used by a certain cryptocurrency, which is obviously unconvincing. Industry insiders said that Samsung's actual yield rate may be less than 50%, and it needs to reach at least 70% to attract large customers.
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