Mass production of A14 process slated for 2028: TSMC

Taipei, July 16 (CNA) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) said Thursday that commercial production of its A14 process is scheduled to begin in 2028.

At an investor conference, TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said the A14 process is the second generation of the chipmaker's nanosheet transistor technology.

Wei noted that compared with the 2-nanometer process, the latest technology the company has mass produced, the A14 process is expected to offer a 10-15 percent speed improvement at the same power, or a 25-30 percent power reduction at the same speed, while the new process is expected to boost logic density by almost 20 percent.

He emphasized the production scale of the A14 process will be larger than the 2nm process, which is expected to help cement TSMC's lead over its peers in technology development.

Following the A14 process, Wei said, TSMC aims to begin commercial production of the more sophisticated A13 and A12 processes in 2029.

Meanwhile, TSMC is currently developing an alternative IC assembly technology in addition to the Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate (CoWoS) technology, which is widely used in AI applications and in high demand in the global market, Wei added.

TSMC needs about one year to bring the new IC assembly technology to commercial production, which is expected to cut its operating costs, he said.

As CoWoS services are in tight supply, TSMC is trying its best to narrow the gap between supply and demand, Wei added.

TSMC will be delighted to see more manufacturers invest in advanced IC assembly technologies to provide more flexibility to clients in production planning, he said.