Mass Production of A14 Process Slated for 2028: TSMC

Taiwan: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) said Thursday that commercial production of its A14 process is scheduled to begin in 2028. At an investor conference, TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei stated that the A14 process represents the second generation of the chipmaker's nanosheet transistor technology. According to Focus Taiwan, Wei noted that compared with the 2-nanometer process, the latest technology the company has mass-produced, the A14 process is expected to offer a 10-15 percent speed improvement at the same power, or a 25-30 percent power reduction at the same speed. The new process is expected to boost logic density by nearly 20 percent. He emphasized that the production scale of the A14 process will be larger than the 2nm process, which is expected to help cement TSMC's lead over its peers in technology development. Following the A14 process, Wei stated that TSMC aims to begin commercial production of the more sophisticated A13 and A12 processes in 2029. Meanwhile, TSMC is currently developing an alternative IC assembly technology in addition to the Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate (CoWoS) technology, which is widely used in AI applications and is in high demand globally. Wei mentioned that TSMC needs approximately one year to bring the new IC assembly technology to commercial production, which is expected to reduce its operating costs. As CoWoS services are in tight supply, TSMC is working diligently to narrow the gap between supply and demand. Wei added that TSMC would welcome more manufacturers investing in advanced IC assembly technologies to provide greater flexibility to clients in production planning.