TSMC gains lead over Samsung on 7nm node

TSMC is picking up more orders for its 7nm process than Samsung. DigiTimes writes the Taiwanese foundry has secured orders from over 40 clients, including high-profile names like Apple and Qualcomm. The company's 7nm process will be used by clients to manufacture chips for mobile communication, high-performance computing and AI applications.

The site says TSMC will adopt extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography into its 7nm+ process. Furthermore, the deployment of 5nm and 3nm technology has reportedly been stepped up. TSMC's 5nm node is reportedly an extension of its 7nm process, with the same target applications. Risk production on TSMC's 5nm node is expected in the first half of 2019.

Samsung hopes to snatch orders from TSMC but is having a hard time:

Moreover, having spun off its wafer foundry service as an independent business unit in May 2017, Samsung plans to launch 4nm process in 2020 against TSMC's 5nm node, before starting volume production of 7nm process in 2018 and developing 6nm and 5nm processes in 2019, according to industry sources.

The sources cited Samsung's foundry officials as saying that Samsung will strive to grab a 25% share of the global foundry market in five years, up from less than 10% for the moment and compared to around 60% now held by TSMC.

As was reported last month, part of the reason why TSMC is more successful is because it doesn't compete with its own clients. Companies are also less inclined to take a risk on Samsung's process as there's widespread belief that it's more geared towards memory semiconductors.