Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) yesterday said that he is optimistic about the semiconductor industry’s future growth, as Moore’s Law is alive and well, and should continue to drive industry growth.
Data from international trade group SEMI showed that over the past six decades, global semiconductor revenue has grown to US$480 billion, following the path of Moore’s Law, former Intel Corp CEO Golden Moore’s observation that the number of transistors on a microchip doubles every two years, while the cost per transistor is halved.
Debates have been going on whether a slowing of that ratio would hamper the industry’s growth.
Photo: CNA
“People have asked: Will semiconductors evolve for another 60 years? I’m optimistic about this,” Liu said in a speech to a think tank summit organized by SEMI in Taipei as part of the three-day SEMICON Taiwan show at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, which opened yesterday.
“To TSMC, Moore’s Law is alive and well,” Liu said.
TSMC’s 7-nanometer process technology entered its second year of mass production this year and its 5-nanometer technology is to begin mass production next year, Liu said.
“Next year, we will see rapid expansion for our 5-nanometer technology. Now we are concentrating our research and development efforts on 3-nanometer,” he said.
“We are also making encouraging progress in developing 2-nanometer technology every week. We are entering the ‘pathfinding’ mode [early research and development stage],” he added
“Someday, if everyone has a quantum computing device in his or her pocket, I believe TSMC will not be absent [from that technology]. I believe the development of semiconductors will continue to unfold,” Liu said.
However, a shortage of qualified engineers and other professionals could hamper the industry’s development more than technological barriers, he said.
To create a larger talent pool in Taiwan, Liu called on the government to increase its national technology research budget to encourage university professors and students to engage in semiconductor research.
“Technological leadership is the only way for Taiwan’s semiconductor industry to survive,” Liu said.
Meanwhile, Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) told the summit that the government has approved TSMC’s environmental impact assessment for a new 2-nanometer fab in Hsinchu.
In a separate forum organized by SEMI, TSMC vice president of corporate research Philip Wong (黃漢森) said that with the evolution of Moore’s Law, the company might offer 2-nanometer and even 1-nanometer technology.
However, the technological evolution might not be defined by the technology node, or by the transistor’s geometry, but rather by chip density, Wong said.
Higher chip density helps drive costs lower, while elevating chip performance, he said.
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Taiwan is open to joining a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) program if one is created, but on the condition that countries provide delivery even in a scenario where there is a conflict with China, an energy department official said yesterday. While Taiwan’s priority is to have enough LNG at home, the nation is open to exploring potential strategic reserves in other countries such as Japan or South Korea, Energy Administration Deputy Director-General Chen Chung-hsien (陳崇憲) said. While the LNG market does not have a global reserve for emergencies like that of oil, the concept has been raised a few times —
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
Standard Chartered Taiwan on March 26 announced that it has partnered with international fintech firm FinIQ to build an “Automated Structured Products Pricing Platform.” The bank is also introducing products from global issuers including Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Barclays PLC and BNP Paribas SA. The new platform enables an end-to-end process whereby it finds the most competitive pricing across multiple issuers in a matter of minutes, followed by automated documentation and transaction execution, which significantly shortens time-to-market and delivers a superior wealth management experience. Standard Chartered Bank Taiwan CEO Anthony Yu (游天立) said: “Standard Chartered is increasingly leveraging its wealth management
RSS