Highlights:

  • TSMC’s first fabrication plant was supposed to be in Arizona, where it planned to produce central processing units utilizing its five-nanometer chip manufacturing technique.
  • TSMC predicts that the first generation of its three-nanometer technology will be 15% more efficient than its current five-nanometer process.

As part of its new investment strategy anticipated to be unveiled soon, the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. will invest USD 40 billion to construct chip plants in Arizona.

TSMC is the largest contract chip producer in the world! Other businesses can use its network of chip factories, or fabs, to manufacture processors based on their customized designs. It also manufactures various other semiconductor products, data center CPUs and the systems-on-chip that drive Apple Inc.’s iPhones.

The largest contract chip producer in the world is TSMC. Other businesses can use its network of chip factories, or fabs, to manufacture processors based on their unique designs.

It also manufactures various other semiconductor products, data center CPUs, and the systems-on-chip that drive Apple Inc.’s iPhones.

TSMC stated last year that it would invest USD 12 billion to construct a fab in Arizona. According to a Financial Times, the project’s value quadrupled to USD 40 billion under the revised investment plan – that will be unveiled soon.

It is scheduled to construct a second, more sophisticated fab as part of the revised plan, which will significantly boost its capacity for chip production.

TSMC originally planned to manufacture processors using its five-nanometer chip manufacturing technique at its first fab facility in Arizona. That process powers the chips in Apple’s 2021 iPhone series.

The Financial Times reported that TSMC would update the facility as part of its new USD 40 billion investment plan to create chips using its more sophisticated four-nanometer technology.

Multiple versions of TSMC’s four-nanometer process have been released.

The most sophisticated model, launched in December last year, enables the production of chips with 15% faster clock speeds than those feasible with TSMC’s first-generation technology.

Even more cutting-edge chips can be produced in the second fab in Arizona. According to the Financial Times, the facility will produce chips using the firm’s most recent and cutting-edge three-nanometer technique. According to reports, TSMC started employing the method to mass-produce chips a few months ago.

TSMC expects its three-nanometer technology to perform 15% better than its five-nanometer process in its first iteration. The method is also anticipated to make it easier to produce chips that consume up to 30% less electricity.

According to reports, the first Arizona facility being built by TSMC as part of its USD 40 billion investment is scheduled to start producing four-nanometer chips in 2024. In 2026, the second, more sophisticated fab will begin producing three-nanometer chips. According to CNBC, the facilities will manufacture 600,000 silicon wafers annually to supply the demand for chips in the U.S.

The CHIPS and Science Act was passed into law by President Joe Biden four months before this investment announcement. The program allocates USD 52.7 billion to promote indigenous chip research, development and production. Several chipmakers are increasing the capacity of their domestic chip manufacturing, including TSMC.

A USD 15 billion memory chip manufacturing facility will be built close to Micron Technology Inc.’s Bose, Idaho headquarters, the company revealed in September. The following month, the corporation announced that it would invest up to USD 100 billion in constructing a state-of-the-art memory chip facility in New York.

The construction of two processor fabs in Ohio, which are projected to cost more than USD 20 billion, was previously announced by Intel Corp.

The fabs will be situated on a “megasite” of around 1,000 acres, which in theory, has room for eight fabs.

Over the following ten years, Intel estimates that its overall investment in the campus might amount to USD 100 billion.

Intel runs a 700-acre chip production site in Chandler, Arizona, with four fabs.

As part of a USD 30 billion effort launched last year, the business seeks to add two more fab facilities to the property. In 2024, the new facilities are anticipated to be fully operational.