TSMC: 7nm to account for 25 percent of revenue in 2H 2019

TSMC CEO CC Wei said revenue of 7nm chips is expected to climb to over 25 percent of total wafer revenue in the second half of this year, a slight increase versus the 22 percent it currently accounts for. The increased demand is generated by a surge in smartphone sales, as well as the HPC, IoT and automotive markets.

The foundry is now offering N7 Plus, which is 7nm with EUV, volume production, and intends to start risk production of 6nm (N6) chips in Q1 2020. The N6 node is an improvement of the N7 process, it has the same design rules and allows a 18 percent higher logic density.

Wei also revealed that volume production of 5nm is scheduled for the first half of 2020. He expects the ramp of 5nm will be slower than that for 7nm:

As for TSMC's 5nm process technology, development is well on track with customer tape-outs starting this quarter, Wei noted. The company expects to move the node to volume production in the first half of 2020. TSMC regards 5nm as "a large and long-lasting node," We added.

Nevertheless, TSMC intends to be "more cautious" about its 5nm capacity ramp-up, Wei indicated. The initial ramp may be slower than that for the N7, but the foundry will manage to ramp up the N5 "quickly," Wei said.

Via: DigiTimes