Samsung is currently using 5nm EUV technology for production, hoping to catch up with TSMC in advanced technology. It is understood that Samsung will skip the 4nm process node completely and go directly to 3nm. To realize such a plan, a larger investment is required. According to reports, Samsung plans to build a US$10 billion fab in Austin, Texas.
There is no news about when the fab will be completed. According to the normal plan, if everything goes well, Samsung may start operating the fab in 2023.
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| Samsung's Fab under construction in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea |
The location of this US$10 billion 3nm wafer fab is surprising, more like Samsung's plan to compete with TSMC. The front-end Semiconductor Manufacturing Company has decided to invest US$12 billion to build a wafer fab in Arizona. Samsung is currently lagging behind its biggest competitors in process technology. According to reports, TSMC has invested US$20 billion in its 3nm process wafer fab.
It is reported that TSMC has already received Apple's first batch of 3nm chip orders, which will be used in iPhone, iPad and Mac, so Samsung has lost a lucrative customer before developing the 3nm process. But Samsung can still win over other customers, such as Qualcomm and MediaTek.
It is reported that Samsung and Qualcomm have reached an $850 million order agreement to be responsible for the chip manufacturing of Snapdragon 888 and Snapdragon X60 5G modems. It may be that Samsung’s offer is too favorable and Qualcomm cannot refuse. Samsung can also provide other customers with competitive quotations to get more orders. However, this is still far from Samsung's ambitions. According to reports, Samsung aims to invest US$115 billion before 2030 to gain a leading position in this field.
As the production of 3nm EUV chips is more difficult, according to the normal schedule, the wafer plant in Austin, Texas, which is still in the preliminary planning stage, will not be able to start production before 2023. On the other hand, TSMC has already begun to use the 3nm process for production by then.
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