[Taiwan Chip News] TSMC Confirms Shift from 2nm to 1.4nm at New Taichung Plant... Accelerating Advanced Process Deployment

Construction Begins Next Month, Mass Production Targeted for 2028
U.S. Pressure Accelerates 1.4nm Plant Construction
Intel and Samsung Join, Setting Stage for 1.4nm Three-Way Competition

TSMC's new factory in Taichung, Taiwan, will shift its originally planned 2nm process to a 1.4nm process. This move is interpreted as a full-fledged transition from mobile and high-performance computing (HPC)-focused processes to advanced processes for AI semiconductor production, in response to increasing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors.

On November 3, local media including Taiwan Economic Daily News reported that TSMC has decided to change the process at its new plant in the Central Taiwan Science Park in Taichung from the previously planned 2nm process to a 1.4nm process. The Central Taiwan Science Park Administration stated that TSMC submitted a groundbreaking notification on October 17, and the change was confirmed in a report on leased land submitted to the administration on October 29. The first phase of ground reinforcement work will begin on December 5, with mass production targeted for the second half of 2028.

TSMC Research and Development Center located in Hsinchu Science Park, Northern Taiwan. TSMC.

According to the administration, TSMC has already received official building permits for three facilities in the first phase, including the fab (wafer production plant), and public works such as flood control facilities on the factory site have been completed and handed over to TSMC. TSMC has already held a groundbreaking ceremony prior to construction, and foundation work teams are scheduled to be deployed on site starting December 5.

At its technical forum, TSMC initially designated the "F25 Plant," to be built on the site of the former baseball stadium in the Central Taiwan Science Park, as the main production base for the 1.4nm process. The company plans to establish four factory buildings at this site, with the first plant set to complete pilot production by the end of 2027 and begin mass production in the second half of 2028. The initial estimated revenue from the new factory is expected to exceed 500 billion New Taiwan dollars (about 25 trillion won).

Industry insiders report that there is significant pressure to begin mass production of the 1.4nm process. This is because the United States is strongly requesting early demand for the 2nm process as part of efforts to diversify geopolitical risks. In particular, under the "N-1 rule" for overseas semiconductor investments set by the Investment Review Committee of Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs, U.S. plants can only begin producing the next-generation process after the most advanced process has started mass production in Taiwan.

As a result, the United States is reportedly asking TSMC to advance the mass production timeline for the 2nm and 1.6nm processes at its U.S. plants to 2027. This, in turn, is putting additional pressure on TSMC to accelerate construction schedules for both the 1.6nm process at its Kaohsiung plant and the 1.4nm process at its Central Taiwan Science Park plant.

With Intel likely to commercialize the 1.4nm process with support from the U.S. government and corporations, a three-way competition is expected to form as TSMC and Samsung Electronics join the race. TSMC is expected to introduce more than 30 EUV (extreme ultraviolet) semiconductor machines for 1.4nm chip production by 2027. According to Taiwan's Commercial Times, "TSMC has signaled aggressive production expansion at the Taichung plant from the outset," and demand for the 1.4nm semiconductor market is already seen as robust. In addition, preparations are underway for mass production of the 1.4nm process at TSMC's Kaohsiung plant as well.

Intel also plans to introduce similar 1.4nm process technology to its customers. With strong support from the U.S. government, both TSMC and Intel are expected to intensify their competition for customer orders using the 1.4nm process in the coming years. Samsung Electronics is also focusing on technology development with the goal of producing 1.4nm process semiconductors starting in 2029.

Taiwan Economic Daily News = Reporter Song Jiansheng / Translation = The Asia Business Daily

*This column is published as part of a strategic partnership between The Asia Business Daily and Taiwan Economic Daily News.