In a quarterly report conference, the Director General of TSMC C.C. Wei shared news with the audience on the success of the new lithographic standards. According to the original plan, an improved version of the 3-nm process called N3E was to reach the TSMC Conveyer one year after the N3 baseline, but now the company's management expects to accelerate the process by two or three months.
As TSMC explained, in 2023, the 3-Nm proceeds will be higher than the 5-Nm process in 2020, when it was first developed under mass production conditions. By the end of 2023, the N3E process will begin to generate up to 5-6% of the company ' s total revenue, as compared to the 3-Nm technology baseline, it will provide higher productivity, higher energy efficiency and output, and will be used for both high-performance processors and mobile smartphones. According to the TSMC chapter, the development and implementation of the N3E process is ahead of schedule and mass production of components with its use can take place as early as the second half of 2023.
The over-saturation of the market by components of other generations, according to TSMC, has not affected clients ' interest in N3 and N3E process. The number of digital projects using them is more than double that of the N5 process in the first two years of its market presence. For TSMC, it is now difficult to equip the 3-nm line in a timely manner with the necessary lithographic equipment because the expansion of this lithography stage is faster than expected. As always, TSMC believes in the ability of its own 3-nm process to offer the most attractive characteristics on the market.
C.C. Wei added that progress in the 2-nm process is evident and is actually ahead of schedule. Mass production using N2 will begin in 2025. TSMC clients are already showing interest in the N2 process comparable to the N3 and N5 standards at the relevant stages of their life cycle.