Samsung is expected to announce the start of mass production of 3nm chips next week, it reports Yonhap News. This means the company will jump ahead of TSMC, which is expected to start manufacturing 3nm chips in the second half of this year.
Samsung’s 3nm node will bring a 35% reduction in area, 30% more performance or 50% less power consumption than its 5nm process (which was used for Snapdragon 888 and Exynos 2100).
This will be achieved by switching to a Gate-All-Around (GAA) design for the transistors. This is the next step after FinFET as it allows the foundry to shrink the transistors, without affecting their ability to carry current. The GAAFET design used in the 3nm node is the MBCFET flavor shown in the following image.
The evolution of silicon transistors
US President Joe Biden visited the Samsung plant in Pyeongtaek last month to attend a demonstration of Samsung’s 3nm technology. Last year it was rumored that the company could invest $ 10 billion to build a 3nm foundry in Texas. The investment has grown to $ 17 billion, the plant is expected to go into operation in 2024.
The site of the Samsung plant in Taylor, Texas
Either way, the biggest concern with a new knot is yield. In October last year, Samsung said the yield of its 3nm process “approaches a similar level to the 4nm process”. Although the company never showed official numbers, analysts believe Samsung’s 4nm node was plagued with performance issues.
A second generation 3nm node is expected in 2023, and the company’s roadmap also includes an MBCFET-based 2nm node in 2025.
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