''In fact, not only do our checks suggest 40-nm yields but, to our surprise, these have remained below 30 percent, affecting shipments in 2H09,'' he said in the report. ''We believe yields are as low as 20 percent to 30 percent, which may explain the recent management change. We think some key customers who are increasing 40-nm tape-outs have already started to evaluate other foundries (UMC) in case yields do not improve soon.''
TSMC recently acknowledged that it had 40-nm yield issues, but claimed those problems were largely fixed. The ''management change'' involved a recent shake-up at silicon foundry giant TSMC.
Increased concern over TSMC's 40nm process
Posted on Thursday, July 02 2009 @ 13:41 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck