TSMC will begin production of 3nm chips as early as next month

This was reported by the resource Commercial Times, referring to the statement of company representatives. The Taiwanese chipmaker is expected to be able to ship the first batches of products based on the new 3nm process (N3) to its partners early next year.

Traditionally, TSMC begins mass production of the new process in the spring in order to have enough chips for the new iPhones, which are usually released sometime in September. However, the development of the N3 technological process has been delayed, so this time Apple will release new smartphones with chips on a different technological process — TSMC will be able to ensure the supply of large volumes of new chips only in early fall 2023.

Compared to the 5nm process, the N3 process chips will offer a 10-15% increase in performance and a 25-30% reduction in power consumption at the same frequencies and number of transistors.

Meanwhile, TSMC is already developing a successor to the N3 process, the N3E, with a slightly lower transistor density. This technology will reach mass production a year after the N3.