Samsung starts production on 3nm chips, boasts performance gains over 5nm

Samsung announced that it started producing 3nm chips, beating rival TSMC to the punch.

TSMC, which makes chips for Apple devices like the iPhone and Mac, leads the market in contract chip production. However, the company isn’t expected to start mass-producing 3nm chips until the second half of 2022.

Samsung, however, unveiled its 3nm fabrication process in a press release. According to the South Korean company, its new 3nm process is 45 percent more power-efficient than its previous 5nm process. Moreover, the 3nm process offers a 23 percent performance gain and uses 16 percent less surface area.

Going forward, Samsung hopes to further push 3nm by reducing power consumption and size by 50 percent and 35 percent, respectively, in its second generation of the process. The company also plans for second-gen 3nm to increase performance by 30 percent.

Initially, Samsung will produce 3nm chips for “high performance, low power computing” and eventually plans to bring 3nm to mobile.

Samsung’s facility in Hwaseong, South Korea, will produce 3nm chips to start, followed by the Pyeongtaek facility. Samsung could eventually produce 3nm chips at its Texas chip plant, but the facility won’t start mass manufacturing until 2024.

Header image credit: Samsung

Source: Samsung Via: Bloomberg, The Verge