TSMC expects to produce large-scale 16nm production in 2016

The Taiwanese chip manufacturer TSMC will only produce finfet chips at 16nm on a large scale in 2016. This puts the group behind competitors Intel, Samsung and Global Foundries. A year later, TSMC should be able to produce on a large scale at 10nm.

“We are currently qualifying customer info for products with 16nm technology and we will be ready for the volume ramp next year, in 2016,” said TSMC co-CEO Mark Liu, during the presentation of the quarterly earnings report of TSMC. Company. The transcript of the notes is on Seeking Alpha. The chief executive also said his company expects to be able to produce high-volume 10nm by 2017.

“Because we are a little late, our market share at 16 nanometers will be smaller in 2015 than our competitors,” admitted Liu, but expressed the expectation that TSMC will gain a much larger market share than competitors in 2016.

Those competitors are Intel and Samsung, which is working hard together with Global Foundries to get 14nm finfet production up to speed. The 14nm production can be regarded as comparable to the 16nm process. According to Taiwanese site Digitimes, Samsung and Global Foundries have won 70 percent of Apple’s order for A9 chips for iPhones and iPads thanks to their lead. However, Digitimes is often wrong with its reporting.

TSMC announced Thursday that it had achieved 79 percent more profit than in the fourth quarter of 2013. That would be partly due to good sales of iPhones, for which TSMC makes part of the chips. TSMC also sells its 5 percent stake in ASML. Samsung will retain its 3 percent stake.