The land area exceeds the sum of the factory area! TSMC reveals details of US plant

The technical forum on TSMC Power Line was officially held today, and the progress and address of the closely watched US factory were exposed for the first time. Information shows that TSMC's Arizona fab covers an area of 1100 acres, more than the total area of its plants in Taiwan and more than half the area of the Hsinchu Science Park in Taiwan.

According to reports, TSMC President Wei Zhijia pointed out that the 5nm advanced process mass produced by TSMC last year had very strong customer demand. The 5nm speed increased by 15% compared with 7 nm, the power consumption decreased by 30%, and the logic density increased by 80%. It has been mass produced in its wafer 18 plants, using EUV equipment, and the yield is better than expected. The shipped chips will be widely used in mobile phones, 5G, AI, networking devices, high-performance computing (HPC) and other fields. It will also be extended to the automotive field.

Wei Zhijia mentioned that since mass production last year, 5nm shipments have exceeded 500000. Due to the long-term strong demand for 5nm, TSMC has listed its Arizona plant as a TSMC wafer 21 plant and one of the 5nm production bases. At present, the wafer 21 plant is under construction and mass production is expected to begin in 2024. Approximately $12 billion will be spent from 2021 to 2029.

Qin Yongpei, senior deputy general manager of TSMC's operation organization, also pointed out that the US plant is located north of Phoenix Airport in Arizona. Phase 1 is under construction and is expected to use 5nm to mass-produce chips in 2024 with a monthly production capacity of 20, 000 chips. According to the film it showed live, TSMC's American plant covers an area of 1100 acres (about 445 hectares).

In addition, Wei Zhe-Jia also pointed out that there is still a shortage of water, electricity, land, and talent in Taiwan, and TSMC's American plant may continue to expand production in the future. Earlier, foreign media also estimated that TSMC will build up to six fabs, which means that the company will expand production in the future.