[IC giants are actively deploying 7nm chips. TSMC, Samsung, and Intel have entered the first camp] At the end of last year, foreign media claimed that the cost of the 7nm process was too high. Only Apple and Samsung considered adopting the 7nm process in 2018. Today, it seems that the speed of IC manufacturers in the 7nm layout is higher than expected. It has been reported that Qilin 980 will adopt the TSMC 7nm process, which is expected to become the first mass-produced 7nm SoC. At the same time, Samsung completed the 7nm chip process development with EUV (Earth-UV Lithography) equipment six months ahead of schedule. Qualcomm's Xiaolong 5G chip will become the first batch of 7nmLPP process adopters. First-line IC design and foundry vendors are ready for the 7nm “card slotâ€.
“At present, the 7nm process still lacks a unified standard and definition, but basically it can be confirmed that TSMC, Samsung, and Intel are in the first camp.†Industry expert Mo Dakang told reporters.
IC giant actively layout 7nm
According to the calculation of the world’s second-largest foundry Grooved, the 7-nm process technology can significantly reduce the chip area. Under the same transistor, the 7-nm chip is 1/2.7 of the 14-nm chip, resulting in lower power consumption of the chip and Calculate the increase in frequency. Due to cost pressure, 7nm won't appear as a "bite and go" situation, but first-line IC manufacturers have announced 7nm process plans.
High-performance computing is a follower of advanced processes. Currently, Xilinx of the FGPA camp announced that TSMC's 7nm process is used in the adaptive computing acceleration platform. The first product is expected to be taped out in 2018 and delivered to the market in 2019. The newly announced 112GPAM4 transceiver technology also uses TSMC's 7nm process. MediaTek’s ASIC product line plans to introduce the industry’s first 7G FinFET silicon-proven 56GPAM4SerDesIP this month.
In 2017, Bitland, which officially launched the AI ​​chip, also incorporated 7nm into the process layout. The reporter confirmed to Bitland that Bitland already had 7nm design experience and plans to use 7nm technology on the fifth generation TPU chip, which is expected to be available in 2020. At the same time, the reporter learned that AMD will use 7nm technology in the next generation of graphics cards, Intel's auto-pilot chip EyeQ5 also plans to use 7nm process.
For handset faucets, the 7nm process is a means to promote cutting-edge model upgrades and high-end marketplaces. Unicorn 980, Apple A12, Xiaolong 855 are expected to use 7nm technology, and equipped with Huawei, Apple, Qualcomm's next-generation flagship models. Wang Yanhui, secretary-general of the China Mobile Alliance, pointed out to reporters that as the manufacturing process becomes more and more advanced, the cost will rise sharply and the scale of investment will increase. The advantages of the first-tier manufacturers will become more apparent.
The promotion of manufacturing process means lower power consumption, faster operation speed and smaller chip size, but IC design or manufacturing companies do not necessarily follow each process node. For example, the grid selection program plans to enter 7nm directly from 14nm. Skips the 10nm process. At present, the major IC manufacturers have 7nm layout plans. Wang Xiaolong, research director of the company, pointed out to reporters that 7nm is the node that the first-line IC design manufacturers will not bypass. From the technical point of view, 7nm has obvious advantages in the processing and transmission of data, especially for high-performance computing chips; from the market point of view, the continuous evolution of product specifications is an effective means to avoid price wars, manufacturers can only upgrade the specifications to maintain the price .
However, the 7nm process also faces uncertainties.
The first is the 7nm standard. Intel’s top executives once stated on “Fine Manufacturing Day†that the density of the transistors in the 10nm process technology of the AUO is equivalent to the Intel 14nm process transistor density, and the process technology should be measured in practice. From the side, IC manufacturers have not yet reached a consensus on the metrics and naming of advanced processes.
A solution provider who has just adopted Intel 14nm technology told the reporter that Intel's 14nm process has a line spacing of 14nm, and the narrowest line spacing is within 10nm. Friends of the company have a technology node named after the narrowest line spacing, so Intel’s 14nm can be compared with 10nm of "friends".
Second, IC vendors will launch multiple products at 7nm, or just as a transition to 5nm, depending on the cost-effectiveness of the process. Wang Yanhui pointed out to reporters that 7nm may have an impact on 10nm, but it does not necessarily cause 14nm squeeze because 14nm is still a cost-effective process. How long IC design vendors will “stay†at 7nm depends on the ability of manufacturers to control yield, power, and cost.
TSMC, Samsung and Intel enter the first camp of 7nm
At the end of last year, Textronic’s co-CEO Liu Deyin said that 7nm process has more than 40 customers. At the investor conference earlier this year, TSMC revealed that it has received orders from more than 50 customers, including smartphones, game consoles, processors, AI applications, bitcoin mining machines, and so on. According to the plan, TSMC has conducted 7nm risk trial production in the fourth quarter of last year, and it is expected to start mass production in the second quarter of this year.
Faced with the overall advantages of TSMC in the market, Samsung will place its hope on EUV technology. EUV uses EUV light with a wavelength of 10 to 14 nm as a light source to reduce the exposure wavelength to 13.5 nm. In secondary image forming and other technologies, the exposure process may be repeated 2 or 3 times, but EUV technology can be performed at one time. The role of simplifying the process and shortening the production cycle is regarded as the key to the continuation of Moore's Law in advanced processes. According to Korean media reports, Samsung has used EUV equipment to complete research and development of the 7nm process, six months ahead of schedule, leaving more time for process improvements and upgrades. On February 23, Samsung started construction of a new EUV production line, which is expected to be completed in the second half of 2019 and put into production in 2020.
Can Samsung achieve the overtaking of TSMC through EUV? Mo Dakang pointed out to reporters that EUV is not only buying lithography machines, but also has to embark on an entire industrial chain. Masks and detection instruments must be changed. Currently, EUV technology is not yet mature, and there are problems such as insufficient light source power. Samsung's use of EUV is an adventure. The TSMC-originated TSMC is strong in terms of process level, third-party IP, and back-end process, plus TSMC expects the 7nm revenue contribution rate will reach 10%, and volume production may go ahead of Samsung.
Although there were not many movements at 7nm, Intel is still an opponent that Samsung and TSMC cannot ignore. According to data released by Intel on Precision Manufacturing Day, its 10nm process has better fin pitch, gate spacing, and logic transistor density than any other vendor. Mo Dakang pointed out to reporters that Intel’s annual R&D investment is more than US$10 billion, and that key process technologies such as FinFet are at the forefront. Intel is mainly an IDM vendor. Although there is a foundry business, it is not in a hurry to report progress to the outside world. Looking at the current process, TSMC, Samsung, and Intel have already taken the first camp.
7nm is not the ultimate point of the advanced process, 3-5nm process has already entered the vision of TSMC and Samsung. TSMC plans to start mass production of 5nm12-inch wafers starting in 2020. The first phase of the 18th plant, which is planned to produce 5nm wafers, was started in the southern industrial science park at the beginning of this year, and is expected to enter volume production at the beginning of 2020; Phase II and III. The plant is expected to enter volume production in 2020 and 2021. Until the first, second and third phases of the 2022 plant are all in volume production, the annual production capacity is estimated to exceed 1 million pieces. At the same time, TSMC promised that the future 3nm plant will also be established in the southern science park. Samsung also developed a process that can create a 5nm chip with IBM and Groovy last year.
However, the 5nm technology is not yet mature. The recent EUV technology bursts into random defects at the 5nm node. Industry experts told reporters that 5nm is not only a technical issue but also an economic issue. If 5nm does not have a price/performance ratio, even first-tier manufacturers will only allow high-end products to follow the evolution of advanced processes.
"The key to the advancement of technological progress is cost-effectiveness, and the more costly the process is, the more critical the cost-effectiveness is," said Mok.
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