TSMC says 5nm remains on track for 1H 2020 volume production

During TSMC's earnings call last week, the Taiwanese foundry reiterated that its 5nm technology remains on track. The first customer tape-outs are expected in the first half of 2019 and volume production is anticipated in the first half of next year:

Our N5 technology development is well on track, with customer tape-out schedule for first half 2019 and volume production ramp in first half 2020. We are already in preparation for N5’s ramp. All applications that are using 7-nanometer today will adopt 5-nanometer. In addition, we are expecting the customer product portfolio at N5 and see expanding addressable market opportunities. We expect more applications in HPC to adopt N5. Thus we are confident that N5 will also be a large and long-lasting node for TSMC.

TSMC's 5nm node will feature more extensive use of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. At the 7nm process, TSMC uses EUV only for contacts and via, which don't require a pellicle, a thin, transparent layer that prevents dust from landing on a mask. With the 5nm process, TSMC will use EUV for manufacturing steps that do require a pellicle. This layer is still a stumbling block for EUV as the best public demonstration have not yet hit the minimum required transparency.

Via: ExtremeTech