Half of Initial Production Allocated to Apple
According to reports from Taiwanese media such as Liberty Times on August 29, the world's largest foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) company, TSMC, has achieved a yield rate of 60% for its cutting-edge 2nm (nanometer, one-billionth of a meter) semiconductors, ahead of full-scale mass production.
According to sources, trial production of 2nm semiconductors at the Baoshan 20 Fab in the Hsinchu Science Park in northern Taiwan and the Kaohsiung 22 Fab in the south, both scheduled for mass production in the fourth quarter of this year, has yielded these results. The sources stated that the yield rate for trial production exceeded 60% even before the start of mass production, and that the rate is expected to increase further once full-scale production begins in the fourth quarter.
The sources also revealed that Apple, one of TSMC's two largest clients, has signed a contract to use about half of the initial 2nm production facilities. They further explained that most of the output shipped to Apple will be used for the A20 and A20 Pro chips, which will be applied to the iPhone 18 series scheduled for release in September 2026.
Another source reported that TSMC will produce 2nm chips at Plant 1 (P1) and Plant 2 (P2) of the 20 Fab, and plans to start production of A14 (1.4nm) chips at Plant 3 (P3) and Plant 4 (P4) by the end of 2027. Additionally, Plants P1 through P5 (five plants) at the 22 Fab have been tentatively designated for 2nm production, while Plant P6 (sixth plant) will be allocated for 1.4nm production. The source added that at Fab 25, where compensation issues for the second-phase site expansion at the Taichung complex in central Taiwan have been resolved, four 1.4nm plants will be constructed with the goal of starting mass production in the second half of 2028.
A nanometer is a unit of measurement for the line width of semiconductor circuits. The narrower the line width, the lower the power consumption and the faster the processing speed. Currently, the most advanced technology in mass production is 3nm, produced by both TSMC and Samsung Electronics.
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