TSMC invests billions in factory to build 3nm and 5nm chip

TSMC has announced that it will build a new factory in Taiwan to manufacture 3nm and 5nm chips. The company will invest an amount of around 15 billion euros for the construction.

The Nikkei Asian Review reports the arrival of the new factory based on statements from TSMC. According to spokesperson Elizabeth Sun, the chip factory is being built in Taiwan, but government help is needed to find a suitable piece of land. It is known that between 50 and 80 hectares of land is needed, but when TSMC wants to start construction is unclear.

The construction of the chip factory requires an amount of approximately 500 billion Taiwan dollars, which translates into almost 15 billion euros. With this investment it should be possible to build chips that are considerably smaller than what is currently customary; no commercial chips baked on a 3nm or 5nm process have yet been released. TSMC can currently build chips at 10nm.

Competitors are also building smaller transistors. Globalfoundries wants to start producing the first 7nm chips from 2018, while Imec and ARM are collaborating on similar technology. Meanwhile, Samsung has just started mass production of 10nm chips.