Full competition for ‘next generation AP’ order… Samsung –TSMC in competition for facility investment
Park Seul-gee | seul@dt.co.kr | 2017-08-11 11:19:14
[Digital Times, Park Seul-gee] Taiwanese TSMC, one of the world`s largest semiconductor foundries, has invested around KRW 3.6 trillion to increase production facilities for ultra-microcircuits such as 7-nanometer.
Samsung Electronics, which has been investing in the semiconductor foundry business, has been aggressively investing in microprocessor production facilities under 10nm under the goal of rising to second place in the world foundry market next year.
The two companies are competing to invest in foundry facilities, including mobile application processors (APs) for the Apple iPhone 9, which use ultra-fine processes such as 7-nanometers, and mobile AP demand, which accounts for the largest portion of the foundry market We expect this to increase significantly.
According to the semiconductor industry on August 10, TSMC recently approved a new facility investment plan by the board to expand its production capacity. The total investment is USD 3.1 billion. Among them, it plans to spend USD 528 million to build a new plant, and to invest USD 2.6 billion to expand facilities and improve existing facilities.
TSMC stated that it will spend USD 11.2 billion (about KRW 12.8 trillion) in facility investments this year, up 10 % from last year. TSMC`s aggressive investment is expected to accelerate from next year, with demand for mobile APs based on the 7-nanometer process expected to increase sharply.
TSMC, which exclusively supplies APs to Apple since 2013, has been mass-producing 10nm APs from the second quarter of this year and is supplying the AP `A11` for the iPhone 8 in its full capacity. The industry estimates that TSMC will also supply more than 60 percent of the AP `A12` for the iPhone 9, which will be released next year.
To this end, TSMC is bringing extreme ultraviolet (EUV) exposure equipment, which is essential for implementing processes below 7 nm. ASML, the Dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer, is the only company in the world to make this device. The price of the device is more than KRW 200 billion, so the investment in 7-nano process foundry is inevitable.
Exposure equipment is a key device for drawing circuits on semiconductor silicon wafers, and EUV can significantly reduce microcircuit linewidths through using a shorter wavelength of 13.5 nm than visible light.
Samsung Electronics, which mass-produced semiconductor wafers for the first time in 10-nano process last October, has been securing stable yields and increasing production. The company will build a new system semiconductor foundry factory (S3) by investing 6 trillion won in a temporary parking lot next to Hwaseong 17 line.
It will introduce dozens of EUV exposures here next year and will produce the AP `A12` for the iPhone 9 at 7nm process from the middle of next year. The AP for the iPhone 9 is expected to supply 30% of the total.
Besides, Samsung Electronics will invest USD 1.5 billion (about KRW 1.7 trillion) in the US system plant in North America to upgrade its facilities. Hwaseong S3 foundry production facility investment has already been implemented, and it will begin mass production of 8-nano products from the end of this year, and begin production of 7-nano products in the middle of next year.
"It is important to secure price competitiveness as well as technology in the foundry market," an industry expert pointed out. "At the end of the year, Samsung Electronics will produce 8nm in the industry for the first time, and next year it will compete with 7nm."
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Samsung Electronics, which has been investing in the semiconductor foundry business, has been aggressively investing in microprocessor production facilities under 10nm under the goal of rising to second place in the world foundry market next year.
The two companies are competing to invest in foundry facilities, including mobile application processors (APs) for the Apple iPhone 9, which use ultra-fine processes such as 7-nanometers, and mobile AP demand, which accounts for the largest portion of the foundry market We expect this to increase significantly.
According to the semiconductor industry on August 10, TSMC recently approved a new facility investment plan by the board to expand its production capacity. The total investment is USD 3.1 billion. Among them, it plans to spend USD 528 million to build a new plant, and to invest USD 2.6 billion to expand facilities and improve existing facilities.
TSMC stated that it will spend USD 11.2 billion (about KRW 12.8 trillion) in facility investments this year, up 10 % from last year. TSMC`s aggressive investment is expected to accelerate from next year, with demand for mobile APs based on the 7-nanometer process expected to increase sharply.
TSMC, which exclusively supplies APs to Apple since 2013, has been mass-producing 10nm APs from the second quarter of this year and is supplying the AP `A11` for the iPhone 8 in its full capacity. The industry estimates that TSMC will also supply more than 60 percent of the AP `A12` for the iPhone 9, which will be released next year.
To this end, TSMC is bringing extreme ultraviolet (EUV) exposure equipment, which is essential for implementing processes below 7 nm. ASML, the Dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer, is the only company in the world to make this device. The price of the device is more than KRW 200 billion, so the investment in 7-nano process foundry is inevitable.
Exposure equipment is a key device for drawing circuits on semiconductor silicon wafers, and EUV can significantly reduce microcircuit linewidths through using a shorter wavelength of 13.5 nm than visible light.
Samsung Electronics, which mass-produced semiconductor wafers for the first time in 10-nano process last October, has been securing stable yields and increasing production. The company will build a new system semiconductor foundry factory (S3) by investing 6 trillion won in a temporary parking lot next to Hwaseong 17 line.
It will introduce dozens of EUV exposures here next year and will produce the AP `A12` for the iPhone 9 at 7nm process from the middle of next year. The AP for the iPhone 9 is expected to supply 30% of the total.
Besides, Samsung Electronics will invest USD 1.5 billion (about KRW 1.7 trillion) in the US system plant in North America to upgrade its facilities. Hwaseong S3 foundry production facility investment has already been implemented, and it will begin mass production of 8-nano products from the end of this year, and begin production of 7-nano products in the middle of next year.
"It is important to secure price competitiveness as well as technology in the foundry market," an industry expert pointed out. "At the end of the year, Samsung Electronics will produce 8nm in the industry for the first time, and next year it will compete with 7nm."