‘Chip manufacturers are struggling with disappointing 10nm yields’

TSMC and Samsung are reportedly dealing with disappointing yields when producing 10nm chips. As a result, products that would appear in the first quarter of 2017 with chips in 10nm format could be delayed.

According to DigiTimes sources, TSMC has orders pending from brands such as Apple, HiSilicon and MediaTek. Apple reportedly plans to release new iPads in March 2017, but these could be delayed due to low yields. The sources further indicate that the first chips for the next iPhone will be produced in the second quarter of 2017.

Samsung’s chip factory also seems to be suffering from disappointing revenues from the 10nm process. This would have caused Qualcomm to adjust its plans for 2017. The company initially planned to produce several socs at 10nm, but is now reportedly only sticking to the upcoming top model, the Snapdragon 835. Cheaper chips, such as the Snapdragon 660 series, would be produced in 14nm format. Samsung announced in October that it has started production of 10nm chips.

TSMC had announced last year that the first 10nm chips would be available from the end of 2016. According to the company, the smaller size should deliver a 15 percent performance gain for the same consumption or a 35 percent decrease in consumption for the same performance.

Intel is also struggling to perfect the 10nm process. In 2015, the company announced that it would move away from the usual ‘tick-tock’ generations, with one generation introducing a new architecture and the next generation producing the architecture on a smaller scale. As a result, the new Kaby Lake generation is the third in a row to be fired at 14nm. According to experts, in practice there is little difference between Intel’s 14nm process and the 10nm process of other manufacturers. The first 10nm chips from Intel should appear in the second half of 2017.