Chuantai SMC has begun trial production of 3nm chips. Apple's two chips will adopt its 3nm process.

On December 3rd, according to the latest report from DigiTimes, TSMC (TSM.N) has begun trial production of chips based on its 3nm process (called N3).

It is reported that TSMC will put the 3nm process into mass production by the fourth quarter of 2022 and begin shipping 3nm chips to customers such as AAPL.O and INTC.O in the first quarter of 2023. The first Apple devices with 3nm chips are expected to debut in 2023, including iPhone 15/Pro models with A17 chips and Apple Silicon Mac computers with M3 chips (all names are tentative).

A few days ago, TSMC showed full confidence in the 3nm production process. Wei Zhe-Jia, president of TSMC, said that more new product designs will be finalized in the first year of 3nm mass production, and trial production is expected in the second half of this year and mass production in the second half of 2022.

Wei also said that due to the complexity of the process and the use of a lot of new equipment, the cost will certainly be higher than that of the 5nm process, and revenue is expected to contribute significantly in the first quarter of 2023, while the enhanced 3nm production schedule will be one year after 3nm.

IC design industry believes that TSMC in order to give customers more choices, and to extend the life of the 5nm family, before 3nm, the introduction of the 4nm process also reflects the increasingly high investment cost of the advanced process, and the mask alone will deter new entrants who have the ability to enter the next generation process. It is estimated that the current cost of 3nm film is as high as 5nm, which is naturally among the top 20 manufacturers in the world.