Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said it would not rule out building a 1-nanometer (nm) fab at the Longtan (龍潭) campus of Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區).
“There are multiple factors that we take into consideration in selecting a manufacturing site. The company will continue investing in advanced technologies in Taiwan,” TSMC said in a statement in response to a Taipei Times question about whether it has chosen Longtan District (龍潭) as the site for a 1-nanometer fab.
“The company will not rule out any possibility. It continues to evaluate suitable sites to build semiconductor fabs in Taiwan,” the statement added.
Photo: Yimou Lee, Reuters
TSMC operates an advanced chip packaging facility in Longtan, company data showed.
The production of 1-nanometer chips would still be several years away, as TSMC is in the process of developing 2-nanometer process technology in preparation for volume production in 2025.
The company’s 3-nanometer process will be the most advanced technology when it is introduced later this quarter to manufacture chips for smartphones and high-performance computing devices, TSMC said.
TSMC’s remarks came after Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) told reporters that government agencies are stepping up efforts to expand the Longtan campus to satisfy TSMC’s demand as it builds new manufacturing facilities.
The Taoyuan City Government welcomes TSMC’s decision to deepen its investment by building a 1-nanometer chip facility in the city, Cheng wrote on Facebook yesterday.
As the Longtan campus of the science park is fully utilized, government agencies are working together to expand the science park for TSMC, Cheng wrote.
This project has been under discussions for three years and government agencies have for the past two years been more active in pushing for the park’s expansion, including land expropriation and utilities planning, he said.
The Chinese-language Commercial Times was yesterday the first to report that TSMC was considering setting up a 1-nanometer fab in Longtan, citing an unnamed source.
Asked about the report, Hsinchu Science Park Bureau Deputy Director-General Chen Shu-chu (陳淑珠) said she would not comment on the investment plans of an individual company.
However, the bureau would help companies acquire land in the third phase of the Longtan campus’ development, which has yet to get under way, as the first phase is almost full and the second phase will mainly be devoted to green spaces and parks, Chen said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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