Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) has applied for permission to construct a new plant in the Central Taiwan Science Park (中部科學園區), which it would use for the production of new high-speed wafers, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday.
The council, which supervises three major science parks in Taiwan, confirmed that the Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau had received an application on Friday from TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, to commence work on the new A14 fab.
A14 technology, a 1.4 nanometer (nm) process, is designed to drive artificial intelligence transformation by enabling faster computing and greater power efficiency, TSMC’s Web site says.
Photo: CNA
The 1.4nm process would produce chips that are 15 percent faster than the 2nm process at the same power, TSMC said.
With a 30 percent power reduction, the 1.4nm chip would have the same speed as the 2nm, which is scheduled to start commercial production this year, it said.
TSMC is aiming to begin construction of the A14 fab at the end of the year and start mass production in the second half of 2028, the US-based tech Web site Wccftech said.
A recruitment campaign has begun for the new facility, which would receive initial investments of US$49 billion, the Web site said.
The Taichung City Government yesterday said it would provide the necessary assistance for TSMC to smoothly carry out the second phase of its investment plan in the science park.
The city government in a statement said its Economic Development Bureau has set up one-stop services to facilitate the investment plans of enterprises in Taichung and to help create an investor-friendly environment.
The Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau would complete preliminary work for the TSMC construction site by the end of this month, allowing the company to start work soon after, the city government said.
TSMC’s new fab is expected to create NT$485.7 billion (US$15.83 billion) in annual production value and about 4,500 jobs, the city government said.
At an investor conference on Thursday, TSMC chairman and CEO C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said that while the chipmaker is gearing up to expand its overseas production, it would also continue to invest in Taiwan.
TSMC is working on developing its advanced 2nm process in Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, with the goal of starting mass production later this year, and it would build more wafer fabs and integrated-circuit assembly plants in Taiwan, he said.
The 2nm process is scheduled to start commercial production later this year.
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