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TSMC starts volume production on 7 nm
https://www.anandtech.com/show/12677/tsmc-kicks-off-volume-production-of-7nm-chips
Basically, TSMC thinks that their 7 nm process node is now mature enough to be usable for volume production of real commercial parts, as opposed to only for early testing to see if something works. With Intel's 10 nm process node being delayed and delayed and delayed, it looks like Intel's decades-long lead in the foundry business is coming to an end.
Some would argue that Intel's 10 nm process node is comparable to TSMC's 7 nm, or for that matter, Global Foundries' 7 nm. There are various reasons why the top line number on foundry process nodes are somewhat dubious. But if real parts from TSMC's 7 nm show up at about the same time as Cannon Lake, then Intel's foundry advantage would pretty much be gone.
So what will get produced on TSMC 7 nm? A lot of things that you'll never hear about, and probably some cell phone chips. And most likely eventually, Nvidia GPUs. This doesn't mean that Nvidia GPUs on 7 nm are due out any day now. There's a huge difference between a process node being mature enough for small 50 mm^2 chips to be viable and for the 500+ mm^2 behemoths that Nvidia likes to build. And even if a process node is ready, that doesn't necessarily mean that all of the designs for it are.
AMD GPUs probably won't be built on this process node. Rather, AMD uses Global Foundries, and their 7 nm node is also coming soon. But while Intel seems to have stalled, unless there is something wildly wrong with TSMC's latest process node, foundry advances live on.
This process node is still on DUV. Various foundries, including TSMC and GlobalFoundries, expect to finally start using EUV in commercial products next year. The shorter wavelength of EUV makes it easier to etch the very small features necessary to produce transistors on the most advance nodes.
EUV lithography isn't quite using x-rays to carve out transistors, but it's pretty close. It has a wavelength of 13 nm, while the official boundary for the start of x-rays is 10 nm. For comparison, the DUV ArF lasers that have been used for many years have a wavelength of 193 nm, and visible light tops out at 390 nm.
Basically, TSMC thinks that their 7 nm process node is now mature enough to be usable for volume production of real commercial parts, as opposed to only for early testing to see if something works. With Intel's 10 nm process node being delayed and delayed and delayed, it looks like Intel's decades-long lead in the foundry business is coming to an end.
Some would argue that Intel's 10 nm process node is comparable to TSMC's 7 nm, or for that matter, Global Foundries' 7 nm. There are various reasons why the top line number on foundry process nodes are somewhat dubious. But if real parts from TSMC's 7 nm show up at about the same time as Cannon Lake, then Intel's foundry advantage would pretty much be gone.
So what will get produced on TSMC 7 nm? A lot of things that you'll never hear about, and probably some cell phone chips. And most likely eventually, Nvidia GPUs. This doesn't mean that Nvidia GPUs on 7 nm are due out any day now. There's a huge difference between a process node being mature enough for small 50 mm^2 chips to be viable and for the 500+ mm^2 behemoths that Nvidia likes to build. And even if a process node is ready, that doesn't necessarily mean that all of the designs for it are.
AMD GPUs probably won't be built on this process node. Rather, AMD uses Global Foundries, and their 7 nm node is also coming soon. But while Intel seems to have stalled, unless there is something wildly wrong with TSMC's latest process node, foundry advances live on.
This process node is still on DUV. Various foundries, including TSMC and GlobalFoundries, expect to finally start using EUV in commercial products next year. The shorter wavelength of EUV makes it easier to etch the very small features necessary to produce transistors on the most advance nodes.
EUV lithography isn't quite using x-rays to carve out transistors, but it's pretty close. It has a wavelength of 13 nm, while the official boundary for the start of x-rays is 10 nm. For comparison, the DUV ArF lasers that have been used for many years have a wavelength of 193 nm, and visible light tops out at 390 nm.
