GAA Technology High-Performance and Low-Power Design
Transistor Structure Transition 'Super Gap'
Top TSMC Challenged with Bold Move
Overcoming Dependence on Foreign Components and Lack of Technical Personnel
Yield Improvement Also Essential
[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Samsung Electronics has succeeded in mass production of the world's first 3-nanometer foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) process applying the next-generation transistor structure called Gate-All-Around (GAA) technology. The 3-nanometer process is the most advanced technology in semiconductor manufacturing. By reaching the 3-nanometer process milestone first, Samsung has laid the groundwork to catch up with Taiwan's TSMC, the leading company in securing major fabless (semiconductor design companies). However, challenges such as the shortage of skilled personnel required for ultra-fine processes, increased dependence on foreign components, and securing customer trust through yield (pass rate) improvement must be addressed.
According to Samsung Electronics on the 2nd, mass production of the 3-nanometer process applying GAA technology has begun. Mass production started on the 30th of last month, fulfilling the promise of "mass production in the first half of this year." This contrasts with the delay in TSMC's 3-nanometer foundry process mass production schedule, the number one foundry company. The 3-nanometer process line is reportedly established at the Hwaseong campus in Gyeonggi Province. Choi Si-young, head of Samsung Electronics' Foundry Business Division, said, "We have rapidly grown by being the first in the foundry industry to introduce new technologies such as high-K metal gate, FinFET, and extreme ultraviolet (EUV). We are now providing the world's first 3-nanometer GAA process foundry service," adding, "We will actively develop differentiated technologies and build a system to quickly increase process maturity."
One nanometer is "one billionth of a meter," representing about one hundred thousandth the thickness of a human hair. The 3-nanometer process means that the linewidth of the electrical circuits drawn on the semiconductor is 3 nanometers, a next-generation semiconductor core technology that can significantly reduce the linewidth compared to the current cutting-edge 4-nanometer semiconductor process.
It is not just a size innovation. Samsung has also developed the next-generation GAA process technology that surrounds the 'channel,' through which current flows, with the 'gate' that controls the current. Semiconductors are made up of transistors, gates, channels, and more. To place many semiconductor chips on a limited silicon wafer, the size of transistors must be reduced. Power consumption must be minimized to reduce heat generation and extend battery life. Samsung Electronics' 3-nanometer GAA technology surrounds all four sides of the transistor's 'channel' with the 'gate.' This allows a larger gate area compared to the existing FinFET, which only wraps three sides. This overcomes the performance degradation caused by process miniaturization and improves data processing speed and power efficiency.
By transitioning the transistor structure from FinFET to GAA, Samsung Electronics' 3-nanometer GAA first-generation process is expected to improve performance by 23%, reduce power consumption by 45%, and reduce area by 16% compared to the existing 5-nanometer process. With the second-generation GAA process, performance is expected to improve by 30%, power consumption to decrease by 50%, and area to shrink by 35%.
With this performance innovation, Samsung can strengthen its competitiveness in securing foundry customers and pressure TSMC, which holds about half of the global market share as the number one company. According to market research firm TrendForce, in the first quarter, the global foundry revenue market share was TSMC 53.6% and Samsung Electronics 16.3%. Although Samsung has not officially disclosed its customers, major fabless companies such as Qualcomm and AMD are mentioned as potential clients. Samsung has set a strategy to differentiate itself by providing optimized power consumption, performance, and area (PPA) tailored to customer demands and maximizing power efficiency (performance per unit power).
For Samsung Electronics, securing fabless customers who want to manufacture semiconductors with the most advanced processes is crucial. As of last year, Samsung Electronics had more than 100 foundry customers. The goal is to secure more than 300 customers by 2026. By then, Samsung, TSMC, and Intel are expected to transition to the 2-nanometer system. Samsung must capture as much market share as possible before competitors move to 2 nanometers.
Concerns have been raised that Samsung's overseas dependence may increase due to the market trend toward ultra-fine processes and intensified competition in developing GAA technology following the transistor structure transition. The competitiveness of domestic materials, parts, and equipment industries is low, and there may be issues in securing skilled personnel for ultra-fine processes. Because the circuit linewidth has become extremely short, improvements in material properties and performance are necessary to establish a stable 3-nanometer GAA process ecosystem. Samsung Electronics expects that the 3-nanometer GAA will accelerate the development speed of the foundry ecosystem technology and positively impact domestic fabless and back-end (OSAT) companies.
Yield management is also indispensable to gain market trust. There have been cases where Samsung was evaluated as inferior to TSMC in 4-nanometer process yield. Due to this, fabless companies such as Qualcomm reportedly entrusted more volume to TSMC, raising concerns about Samsung Electronics' foundry business. The industry believes that yields have stabilized based on Samsung's delivery of high-performance computing (HPC) system semiconductors to multiple customers and plans to produce mobile system-on-chip (SoC), but the specific details are confidential. Nevertheless, many analysts interpret Samsung's official announcement of mass production as evidence that the company has met its desired yield levels.
It took Samsung Electronics 17 years to announce mass production of the 3-nanometer GAA. Samsung entered the foundry business in 2005 by establishing the S1 line in Giheung, Gyeonggi Province. In 2011, Samsung began competing in technology by succeeding in the world's first 32-nanometer high-K metal gate (HKMG) process. In 2016, Samsung was the first in the industry to succeed in mass production of the 10-nanometer FinFET process, and in 2017, it developed the world's first extreme ultraviolet (EUV) technology-based 7-nanometer process, entering mass production in 2018. In 2019, Samsung also succeeded in developing the EUV-based 5-nanometer process. Most of Samsung's developments were world firsts, which is why it confidently promoted the brand of "super-gap management."
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