Rumor: TSMC makes Apple A13-soc on improved 7nm process with euv

TSMC is rumored to be making the Apple A13 soc later this year on an upgraded version of its 7nm process with euv. Mass production on this process is expected to start in the second quarter of this year.

According to Taiwanese newspaper Digitimes, citing a Chinese Commercial Times article, TSMC will begin production on the 7nm process with euv at the beginning of the second quarter. TSMC would produce Huawei’s next high-end soc, presumably the Kirin 985. TSMC calls this process N7+ and later in the quarter there will be an improved variant with the name N7 Pro; which would be used for the production of the Apple A13-soc. At the end of last year, there was already a rumor that Huawei would be the first to use TSMC’s production with euv.

It is not clear to what extent the N7 Pro process differs from N7+. Earlier this year there were already reports about the production of TSMC at 7nm with euv. The Taiwanese chip giant has been making chips using a 7nm process for some time, but still uses immersion lithography for that. In the first generation of TSMC’s 7nm process with euv, euv lithography will be applied to some critical layers of the chips. With the transition to 5nm, euv will be used for more layers.

In early April, TSMC announced that it was ready to start production of the first chips at 5nm with euv. Now that the production line is ready, the risk production can be started. Mass production on the 5nm process will take place in the course of next year. According to rumors, iPhones will receive a soc in 2020 that will be made on the 5nm process. TSMC is expected to announce more about its processes using euv at an investor meeting on April 18.