TSMC announces 4nm process and aims to start mass production in 2023

TSMC has confirmed that the company is working on a 4nm process. This process is an advanced version of the N5P node, which is created at 5nm. The Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer hopes to begin mass production of 4nm chips in 2023. Test production will start later this year.

TSMC made the announcement during a meeting with shareholders, Digitimes writes. According to the chip manufacturer, this process will be a more advanced version of TSMC’s N5P node. TSMC says it plans to start mass production of 4nm chips in 2023. Test production should start in the third quarter of 2020.

The N4 node is positioned between TSMC’s 5nm processes and the upcoming 3nm node. This makes the 4nm process comparable to TSMC’s current N6 node, which is positioned between 7nm and 5nm. The N4 node should offer better performance than the company’s 5nm processes, but be cheaper than 3nm chips. According to Digitimes, the company hopes this will offer more choice to its customers.

TSMC is installing production lines for its 3nm chips, Digitimes reports. The first production tests for 3nm should start in 2021. The company states that a more large-scale production in accordance with the 3nm process will start in 2022. With this, TSMC is on schedule: earlier this year, the company already stated that it would start producing 3nm chips in 2022.