[Peace&Chips] Semiconductors Enter the Angstrom Era

Competition for 3nm Begins in Foundry Market
Plans for 1nm Mass Production Surface
Will the Angstrom Era Follow the Nanometer Age?
Intel Chasing Samsung and TSMC, Determined to Lead Angstrom Technology

Editor's NoteSemiconductors. We hear about them every day, but when it comes to explaining the concept, it's hard to find the words. They are often called the rice of modern industry, so it's something you must know about, yet articles and books on semiconductors tend to be so difficult that people avoid them. But did you know that semiconductors are actually quite fascinating? Even a single semiconductor component hides the mechanisms of the entire industry and the interests of nations. Peace&Chips will spoon-feed you the hidden contexts and meanings of this somewhat uncomfortable semiconductor field. Just place your spoon and enjoy.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Pyeonghwa] Samsung Electronics reigns as the absolute leader in the memory semiconductor market, but there is one market where it is an exception. It is busy chasing the dominant players in this market. This is the foundry business, where manufacturing facilities are set up to produce semiconductors ordered by client companies.

Market research firm TrendForce reported that as of the second quarter of this year, Samsung Electronics holds a 16.5% share of the global foundry market. This is a significant gap compared to Taiwan's TSMC, the market leader with a 53.4% share. In response, Samsung Electronics is leveraging a technological super-gap to catch up with TSMC. A prime example is that this year, Samsung began mass production of 3-nanometer (nm; 1 nm = one billionth of a meter) advanced processes ahead of TSMC.

The foundry market is highly competitive as it is expected to offer many business opportunities in the future. With the dawn of the 3-nanometer era just beginning, plans for the 1-nanometer scale are being concretely discussed. Last October, Samsung Electronics officially announced a roadmap for mass production of 1.4-nanometer chips by 2027. TSMC is also expected to introduce a 1.4-nanometer process around the same time, making it highly likely that the industry will enter the 1-nanometer era within five years.

This raises a question: if the 1-nanometer era becomes a reality, what comes next? The semiconductor industry talks about the concept of 'angstrom.' Angstrom is a unit smaller than the commonly used nanometer (nm; 1 nm = one billionth of a meter). One angstrom equals one ten-billionth of a meter, or 0.1 nanometers. It is an extremely fine unit, roughly one millionth the thickness of a human hair, making it difficult to grasp.

Academic and industry sectors in semiconductors are actively conducting research and development related to angstrom-scale technology. Particularly, Intel, which officially re-entered the foundry market last year, emphasizes angstrom units. Intel uses angstrom units instead of nanometers in advanced processes. When announcing its entry into the 1.8-nanometer process in the second half of 2024, Intel used the term 18A, where 'A' stands for angstrom.

In fact, Intel is a strong player in system semiconductors, including central processing units (CPUs), but in the foundry sector, it lags behind leading companies like Samsung Electronics and TSMC. The use of angstrom units seems to reflect Intel's intention to compete in the angstrom era rather than the nanometer era, which has already been dominated by competitors.

Of course, just because foundry companies are heralding the angstrom era does not mean it will be an easily achievable goal. Besides the significant technical challenges, support at the supply chain level, such as equipment enabling fine processes, is essential. The Dutch company ASML, which supplies advanced extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment essential for fine processes, announced that it will begin mass production of the next-generation EUV equipment called 'High NA' in 2024, designed for processes below 3 nanometers. As the angstrom era fully arrives, a wider variety of equipment is expected to emerge.

We will have to watch whether the angstrom era is simply a continuation of the nanometer era or if it will bring about a tectonic shift where new leaders claim the crown.