TSMC announces 5nm-based N4P process

TSMC announces its N4P node. That is an improved version of TSMC’s 5nm process, which offers a higher transistor density and should be more powerful or efficient. The first products based on N4P should go into production by the second half of 2022.

N4P is the third improvement in TSMC’s 5nm lineup, the manufacturer writes. This makes N4P an improved version of the N4 node that the company announced last year. At the same power consumption, the N4P process performs 11 percent better than the original N5 node and 6 percent better than N4, the manufacturer claims. With equal performance, the new process would be 22 percent more efficient than N5. The Taiwanese chip maker writes that the transistor density has increased by 6 percent over N5, but it is not clear how the density of N4P compares to N4.

The N4P process is also less complex than its predecessor, TSMC claims. The wafer cycles are shortened according to TSMC because N4P uses fewer masks. The company reports that the first chip designs will be sent to TSMC for production on N4P around the second half of 2022. This probably concerns relatively small-scale ‘risk production’. It is not known when the manufacturer will start mass production.

In addition to N4P, TSMC’s 3nm process is also still on the roadmap. The company shared first details about this last year. TSMC’s 3nm will be the last process that the company will base on so-called finfets. In the future, the company is likely to switch to GAA transistors. TSMC’s first 3nm node, N3, is currently planned for the second half of 2022, but is said to have suffered some delay. Seeking Alpha writes based on statements from TSMC that N3 has been postponed by ‘three to four months’.