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TSMC narrows production of 16nm FinFET chips to late 2013, wants 10nm in 2015
For as often as TSMC has extolled the virtues of FinFET chip designs, we've been wondering exactly when we'd find them sitting in our devices. Thanks to competition from rival semiconductor firms, we'll get them relatively soon: the company now expects to produce its first wave of FinFET-based, 16-nanometer chips toward the end of 2013. While they won't be as nice as 14nm-XM chips in the pipeline, the 16nm parts should still offer battery life and speed improvements over the 28nm chips we know today. These improvements also won't be the end of the road -- TSMC anticipates 10nm designs built on extreme ultraviolet lithography late into 2015, and CEO Morris Chang believes there's seven or more years of advancements in manufacturing before Moore's Law starts breaking down. We'll just be happy if we see FinFET reach our phones and tablets in the near term.
Apple reportedly dropping Samsung and turning to TSMC for A7 chip development
A report from the Korea Times relays that Apple is excluding Samsung from its plans to develop its next-gen A7 processor. While Apple and Samsung compete fiercely in the smartphone market, the two companies also happen to be very important business partners. Apple, of course, currently relies on Samsung to manufacture all of the chips used in its lineup of iOS devices. In turn, Apple's business contributes billions upon billions to Samsung's bottom line each and every year. With Apple currently embroiled in legal disputes with Samsung across the globe, it should come as no surprise that Apple is actively seeking to move its chip business elsewhere. "Apple is sharing confidential data for its next A7 system-on-chip (SoC) with the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). TSMC has begun ordering its contractors to supply equipment to produce Apple's next processors using a finer 20-nanometer level processing technology," said an executive at one of Samsung's local partners in Korea by telephone, Wednesday. While reports of Apple shifting away AX chip production from Samsung to TSMC have persisted for quite some time, the latest report appears to have more substance to it. Taiwan's Economic Daily News also reported recently that Apple had yet to place any orders for A7 processors with Samsung. But of particular interest is that the publication also relayed that Samsung's exclusive contract to produce Apple's A-series of chips is slated to expire in June 2013. In short, the door may now be wide open for TSMC to swoop in and take over Apple's chip-production business from Samsung. It therefore stands to reason that Apple's 2014 lineup of iOS devices will likely be Apple's first products to include chips built by TSMC. iDownloadblog adds: Risk production will apparently start this summer and TSMC should be able to churn out the A7 chips in volume in early-2014, in time for a 2014 wave of iPhone, iPad and iPod upgrades. The Apple-designed processor is expected to be fabbed on TSMC's sophisticated 20-nanometer process technology. So does this mean that Apple's relationship with Samsung will effectively come to an end come 2014? Not necessarily. iDownloadblog previously sourced a quote from Korea Investment & Securities researcher Seo Won-seok who anticipates that Samsung will retain approximately 70 percent of Apple's chip business in 2014. Going forward, however, you can bet that Apple will attempt to shift as much of its chip business away from Samsung as possible.
Apple said to be ditching Samsung in favor of TSMC for A7 CPU
The fact that Apple relies upon Samsung, its arch-rival, for a healthy amount of its components, is one of the biggest paradoxes in the tech industry. Still, if The Korea Times is to be believed, the unhappy marriage between the two could rapidly be heading towards a divorce. While Apple has previously splashed out several billion per year on Samsung components, the newspaper is suggesting that Cupertino will turn to TSMC to produce its next generation of mobile CPUs -- a rumor that's been making the rounds recently. Its source, an executive at one of Samsung's partners, claims the manufacturer has been cut out of development of the A7 CPU, adding a little bit more credence to those claims. What's more, the same source reports that TSMC is gearing up its 20-nanometer production line to crank out the hardware ready for 2014.
First ARM Cortex-A57 processor taped out by TSMC, ready for fab
Your current smartphone just took another spin backwards on the obsolescence cycle thanks to a new landmark from ARM and TSMC: the first Cortex-A57 has reached the "tape out" stage, meaning it's ready for mass production. The new chip will use TSMC's 16nm FinFET technology (though the transistors will be 20nm for the A57) and will bring up to three times the CPU power of current chips for the same battery life -- or a maximum of five times the battery life at the same speed. The companies said they ramped the chip from design to tape out in a mere six months, though there's no timetable for its arrival in specific devices. When it does start hitting next gen phones and slates though, expect the performance charts to get singed.
TSMC to triple 28nm chip shipment this year, asserts confidence in 20nm demand
At yesterday's investor meeting in Taipei, TSMC's chairman and CEO Morris Chang shared the good news that his company's 28nm chip shipment this year will triple that of last year, which should boost its annual increase in revenue to above the industry's average rate of seven percent. China Times reports that orders for TSMC's 28nm silicon are lined up to as far out as late Q3, courtesy of demand for ARM processors, baseband chips, graphics processors and x86 processors. This is no surprise considering the likes of Qualcomm (Snapdragon 600 and 800), Huawei (HiSilicon K3V2 Pro and K3V3), NVIDIA (Tegra 4), AMD (Temash and Kabini) and possibly Apple will be ordering more 28nm-based chipsets from the foundry throughout the year. TSMC did struggle with its 28nm supply for Qualcomm early last year, but it eventually caught up later on, and Chang stated that TSMC now owns nearly 100 percent of the 28nm process market. Looking further ahead, Chang said his company's already seen enough clients and demand for the upcoming 20nm manufacturing process, which should have a more significant financial contribution in 2014. The exec also predicted that at TSMC, its 20nm production will see a bigger growth rate between 2014 and 2015 than its 28nm counterpart did between 2012 and 2013 -- the former should eventually nab close to 90 percent of the market, said Chang. [Image credit: TSMC]
Apple reportedly makes a deal with TSMC for A6X production
With absolutely no love lost between Apple and Samsung, it's being suggested that Apple will yank processor chip production from the South Korean tech giant. A report today in the Mac Observer, quoting from The Commercial Times translated by AFP says Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) will become the major supplier of chips for Apple's mobile devices. That change could happen as early as the first quarter of this year. Apple designs its own processors but gives contracts to others to produce them. Given the swarm of lawsuits between Samsung and Apple, it seemed only a matter of time before Apple pulled the plug, and certainly saw no reason to award multi-million dollar contracts to a company Apple feels has ripped off many of its ideas. In August, Samsung was ordered by a US court to pay Apple US$1.05 billion in damages for copying the iPhone and iPad features in some Galaxy smartphones. Samsung is appealing the ruling. Apple and TSMC have declined to comment on the report.
Korea Times: LG's first in-house chips will launch at CES 2013
Remember when LG announced it would license ARM's processor designs so that it could become a fabless chipmaker -- so that it could exert more control over its own processors? Well, if the Korea Times is to be believed, then LG could unveil its first homemade chips at CES 2013. In an attempt to gain more "independence and dignity" for its business, CEO Koo Bon-joon has pushed for the company to own as much of its technology as it can. As such, it's apparently ready to debut a chip for embedded devices called H13, built on TSMC's coveted 28-nanometer process. The newspaper is also reporting that a mobile version is in the works which the company will use in its own phones and also try to sell to rivals -- mirroring the business plan of that other Korean behemoth.
TSMC's 28-nanometer process pays off as it rakes in $1.68 billion profit in Q3
Everything is relative, so when a chip foundry like TSMC (which produces gear for the likes of NVIDIA) has a bad quarter, that means it only made a $1 billion in profit. Today's numbers reveal that the company has managed to rescue its halting fortunes after turning over $4.8 billion and making a tidy $1.68 billion in profit. The cause of this upswing was that orders for its coveted 28-nanometer process doubled in the period -- repaying some of the $8.5 billion spent developing it and keeping profits just a little over that of its close pal, Qualcomm.
Quad-core chips rumored for 2014 Apple mobile products
If a research note from Citigroup analyst J.T. Hsu is any indication, Apple is working with Taiwan-based chip manufacturer TSMC on quad-core chips that could be worked into future products such as the iPad and MacBooks in 2014. According to a report on China Economic News Service (CENS), Hsu noted that Apple began verifying TSMC's 20-nanometer process this past August and may begin some limited-risk production in November. Full production of the more efficient, yet powerful chips would be expected in the fourth quarter of 2013. Hsu notes that Apple began development of quad-core processors in 2010 after acquiring fabless chip company Intrincity. Apple would move manufacturing of the chip to Taiwanese supply chains consisting of TSMC, Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc. and Kinsus Interconnect Technology Corporation. This move all boils down to costs; Hsu thinks the Taiwanese manufacturers could produce the chips for about 10 percent less than Apple's main chip supplier at the present time -- Samsung. Quoting the CENS post, "Hsu ascribed Samsung's higher cost in the production of Apple processors mostly to the company's inefficiency." [via MacRumors]
Daily Update for August 29, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Apple, Qualcomm tried to purchase exclusive access to TSMC chip production
Bloomberg is reporting that both Apple and Qualcomm were turned down by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) in attempts by the two companies to invest cash and gain exclusive access to smartphone chips. Each company proposed investing more than US$1 billion in order to have TSMC set aside chip production capacity exclusively for them. Qualcomm and Apple are both trying to secure the chipmaking capacity to satisfy demand for smartphones, and either one of the deals would provide Apple with an alternative to Samsung -- which currently builds the primary silicon for both the iPhone and iPad. For Qualcomm, it's a necessary deal as well. The company's earnings are being limited by shortages of mobile phone chips it designs, and it no longer operates its own factories. TSMC is willing to devote a couple of factories to a single customer, but wants to retain control of its plants and doesn't need cash for investments, according to TSMC executives. The company is wary of dedicating a facility to one customer or product, since if the product or technology changes, they're stuck with a plant that requires a significant investment in order to repurpose it. For the present time, negotiations are apparently continuing although TSMC, Apple, and Qualcomm are not commenting.
Acronym-loving Samsung joins Intel and TSMC, buys stake in ASML
Samsung's round of cash-flashing continues with a $629 million purchase of a three-percent stake in ASML. It's joining Intel and TSMC in pumping money into the Dutch business, developing tooling for chip-making machines with Extra Ultraviolet Lithography (EUV) designed to "extend Moore's Law." It'll also help reduce the cost of future silicon, since it'll enable the companies to use wider silicon wafers along the manufacturing line. Given that Samsung's investment caps of a project to raise nearly $5 billion in cash and that ASML's home is just five miles west of PSV Eindhoven's stadium, we just hope they threw in a few home tickets for their trouble.
ARM and TSMC team up on 64-bit chips and FinFET transistors
ARM and TSMC are renewing their vows and plan to continue collaborating well into the future, as they work to optimize the 64-bit v8 architecture for the Taiwanese company's FinFET transistor tech. The two will push next-gen ARM chips to 20nm and beyond, and hopefully shorten the time to market for new designs. The FinFET process should also help boost frequencies, while keeping power consumption low -- a key to the continued success of the RISC architecture. The FinFET architecture is similar to Intel's own tri-gate transistor technology that was instrumental to nudging the Core architecture forward with Ivy Bridge. After those 64-bit ARM chips are up and running at 20nm and powering your next-gen smartphone, TSMC will begin to look at even smaller processes, with an eye on 15nm next. You'll find the entire joint profession of their love for one another after the break.
Qualcomm enlists Samsung, UMC to help meet 28nm Snapdragon S4 demand
Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 chipset is certainly hot (well, not too hot), but it looks like demand is expected to grow even further, causing the San Diego-based SoC maker to turn to allies in the east to help beef up supply. According to China Economic News Service, United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) and Korea-based Samsung will join Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) to manufacturer the 28nm chips beginning later this year, in an attempt to increase S4 availability ahead of the Windows RT launch. The article cites Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs as saying that a shortage is expected to continue, due to the complicated techniques necessary to manufacturer 28nm chips, and that the company may consider adding its own manufacturing plant in the future. All in all, it doesn't seem like a terrible position for QCOM to be in. Full details are at the Taiwanese source link below.
TSMC ramps 28nm ARM Cortex-A9 chip to 3.1GHz, gives your desktop jitters
We know TSMC's energy-miser 28-nanometer manufacturing process has a lot of headroom, but the company just ratcheted expectations up by a few notches. Lab workers at Taiwan's semiconductor giant have successfully run a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor at 3.1GHz under normal conditions. That's a 55 percent higher clock speed than the 2GHz maximum that TSMC normally offers, folks, and about twice as fast as a 40nm chip under the same workload. Don't expect that kind of clock speed from your next smartphone or tablet, though: expect processors of this caliber to find "high-performance uses," which takes us that much closer to NVIDIA's Project Denver as well as other ARM-based desktops, notebooks and servers that should give x86 chips a run for their money.
TSMC 2012 Q1 results: profits down again as 20-nanometer process proves expensive
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has offered up its first quarter results for the year, revealing yet another middling quarter. While turnover was NT$105.51 billion ($3.6 billion) and net profit was NT$33.47 billion ($1.1 billion), that's still 7.7 percent down on the NT$36.28 it made in the same quarter last year. On the upside, the chip foundry, which produces silicon for plenty of the world's biggest electronics companies, managed to claw back some of those profit dips from Q4 of last year, suggesting milder climes may lie ahead. The company is also encouraged by strong demand for its new 28-nanometer chips, which should offset the $8.5 billion spent on developing them, alongside a forthcoming 20-nanometer facility. 28-nanometer hardware still only equates to 5 percent of overall revenue, which should grow as companies use up their older inventory. If you've got a currency convertor to hand, head on past the break for the detailed breakdown.
TSMC profits down 22.5 percent, still able to afford a new yacht
It's not been a great year for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company: the chip foundry behind Qualcomm and NVIDIA's silicon (amongst others) saw profits slump by 22.5 percent in the last quarter of 2011. Like everything in this world, however, trouble is relative: the business still made a net profit of just over a billion US dollars. CEO Morris Chang pointed a wealthy digit toward customers clearing out old inventory and said that new orders for phone and tablet CPUs would arrive shortly -- thanks to a 28-nanometer factory that opened its doors around the same time. He then casually mentioned that a 20-nanometer facility will open its doors towards the end of this year, followed by a 14-nanometer block by 2014. We've got the report on the financials -- for those with a currency convertor and some spare time to hand -- after the break.
ARMv8 detailed: 64-bit architecture, AppliedMicro first in line
Thought Windows on ARM was snazzy? Have a gander at this. The outfit's forthcoming ARMv8 architecture, the first ARM architecture to include a 64-bit instruction set, has just been detailed, with a goal to expand the reach of ARM processor-based solutions "into consumer and enterprise applications where extended virtual addressing and 64-bit data processing are required." The ARMv8 architecture consists of two main execution states -- AArch64 and AArch32 -- and we're apt to see the real benefits hit high-end servers first. The ARMv8 architecture specifications are available now to partners under license, with the company planning to disclose processors based on ARMv8 during 2012, with consumer and enterprise prototype systems expected in 2014. Head on past the break for ARM's take, or meander to the source links for AppliedMicro's gloating.
Report: Apple A6 production has begun
A report from the Taiwan Economic News claims Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) has started trial production of Apple's next generation A6 processor. The A6 is an ARM-based processor that includes a 28-nanometer process and 3D stacking technologies. It's expected to land in Apple's 2012 iOS devices. The rumored iPhone 5 will keep the current generation A5 manufactured by Samsung, while the iPad 3 could ship with either processor depending on its launch date. TSMC has not commented on its relationship with Apple, but Apple's switch from Samsung to TSMC could help boost the bottom line for the semiconductor company which already manufactures chips for Nvidia and Qualcomm. [Via BGR]
Apple considering TSMC mobile chips?
We hope you're ready for a heaping helping of Apple speculation, because Reuters is serving up a nice big slice of rumor pie today. According to the ever-present "source with knowledge of the matter," Taiwanese chipmaker, TSMC is gearing up to supply Apple with its next generation mobile processors. According to the apparently credible anonymous source, TSMC has already begun trial manufacturing on the chips and "has got all the authorization and details ready." As you may already know, Apple's current supplier of its A5 CPU is Samsung, and relations between the two have been rocky (at least in court). This round of speculation also comes just one year after TSMC began construction on its new $9.3 billion foundry, and teamed up with ARM -- the brains behind the A5. Of course all parties have declined to comment, which lands this report squarely in the grapevine for now, but we'll keep you posted if it winds its way into reality.
