TSMC plans to set up advanced chips plant in Arizona: What it is and other details – Times of India

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) founder Morris Chang has said that the company will build 3-nanometre (3nm) advanced chips at its Arizona factory. He, however, added that the plans for the same haven’t been finalised yet. TSMC supplies chips to Apple and other companies.
“Three-nanometer, TSMC right now has a plan, but it has not been completely finalised. It has almost been finalised—in the same Arizona site, phase two. Five-nanometer is phase one, 3-nanometer is phase two,” said Chang during a press conference in Taipei as per news agency Reuters.
In November 2020, the Taiwanese giant was given a go-ahead by the US to build a $12 billion chip plant in Phoenix, Arizona. TSMC’s Fab 18, located in Tainan City in Taiwan, is the main 3nm production facility.
What it TSMC’s 3nm technology
TSMC says that its 3nm technology (N3) is full node stride from its 5nm technology (N5). N3 technology will offer up to 70% logic density gain, up to 15% speed improvement at the same power and up to 30% power reduction at the same speed as compared with N5 technology.
“N3 technology will offer complete platform support for both mobile and HPC applications,” the company says on its website. The company also says that it is targeting to start volume production in the second half of 2022.
Recently, Qualcomm launched the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC chip which uses TSMC’s 4nm process. This means that processors based on 3nm architecture will be more efficient than these.

Dependency on Taiwan for chips
As per a report by The Wall Street Journal, TSMC makes almost all of the world’s most sophisticated chips. This dominant position has made the most of the technology giants too reliant on the company. Recently, China ramped up military pressure to assert its sovereignty claims on the island.
Without taking any names, Chang reportedly said that many countries have asked him whether TSMC can go to their countries to manufacture chips. “There are a lot of jealous people, jealous of Taiwan’s excellent chip manufacturing. So there are also a lot of people who for various reasons, whether it is for national security or making money, hope to manufacture more chips in their countries,” he said.
TSMC has it has US government support
Bloomberg quotes Chang as saying that the US vice president Kamala Harris has welcomed TSMC’s decision to open a second plant in Arizona. She has reportedly reiterated her government’s stance to help Taiwan.
TSMC is holding a “tool-in” ceremony in Arizona on December 6 and US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will be attending the event, as per reports. US President Joe Biden has also been invited.