TSMC celebrated the launch of 3nm chip production in Taiwan

Earlier this month, TSMC held an event to mark the start of construction of a semiconductor plant in Arizona, and today in Taiwan the company celebrated the start of mass production of chips on the island.
Notably, such ceremonies are quite unusual for TSMC.According to the publication Focus Taiwan, Taiwan's TSMC today celebrates the beginning of mass production of chips in accordance with the 3-nm process technology.
The Fab 18 plant will start producing the latest and most advanced chips on the territory of South Taiwan Science Park in Tainan.It is very important that such celebratory ceremonies are not typical for TSMC.
Analysts do not rule out that the manufacturer demonstrates loyalty to its native island amid large-scale investments in the United States.
Industry experts say the company is holding the ceremony to show it intends to keep Taiwan as a major hub for chip research, development and manufacturing despite the fact that it is now investing heavily at the other end of the world.Note that Apple will be among the first to receive 3-nm chips.
Although Apple is now claiming the A16 chipset is produced according to the 4nm process, in fact TSMC is treating it as a 5nm variant with some refinements.
The first 3nm chipsets that will be available in Apple products will be the M2 Pro and M2 Max, which will be shipped to Macs in 2023.TSMC factories in Arizona will produce 4nm chips first and only later will produce 3nm chips.
The company's Taiwanese plants will begin producing advanced 3nm products first, with 2nm chipsets due to begin production in 2025.

AMD and Analog Devices have settled a long-standing patent dispute and agreed to cooperate

U.S.
chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) and Analog Devices Inc (ADI) have decided to wind down litigation related to possible infringement of semiconductor technology patents.
The respective joint press release was issued last night.Image source: AMDThe companies said they have reached agreements on \"mutually agreed terms\" and are \"committed to pursuing technological cooperation to provide next-generation solutions to their customers from the communications and data center markets.\" Details of the agreement were not disclosed, and representatives from both companies have so far refrained from commenting.The issue arose back in 2019, when Massachusetts-based ADI filed a lawsuit against Xilinx Inc, now part of AMD.
ADI claimed that technology used in chips that enable wireless communications and developed by Xilinx violated some patents related to converting analog data to digital data.ADI claimed that Xilinx copied its innovations when the companies collaborated on the development of another Xilinx technology.
According to 2020, Xilinx denied allegations of patent infringement, and in February of this year it was acquired by AMD for about $50 million, the latter at the same time got a lawsuit.The court hearing was previously scheduled for March, but last year the court suspended the procedures related to the lawsuit due to the need for a number of formal actions related to the relevant technologies at the U.S.
Patent Office.
On Monday, the case was dismissed due to an agreement between the parties.

Sony, NEC and other Japanese companies will work together to restore the country's position in the chip market

Japan was one of the leaders in the semiconductor industry a couple of decades ago, but over time it has long lost its leading position in the relevant market.
To remedy the situation, Japanese tech giants including Sony and NEC will spend about $500 million on a new company designed to restore Japan's leading role in microchip manufacturing.Image source: Moughit Fawzi/unsplash.com \"Semiconductors should be a critical component in the development of new advanced technologies like AI, digital industries and healthcare,\" Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said during a recent briefing.
According to the Nikkei Asian Review, Rapidus, which is being established, will develop a new generation of semiconductors that will use sub-2nm process technology.
Contract manufacturing could start around 2030.As the trade war between the U.S.
and China picks up steam and Washington has limited China's access to semiconductor technology, Japan is rushing to revive its semiconductor industry, which has stagnated in recent years, to provide its own automakers and IT companies with advanced solutions in the field.
Japan does not rule out that China will try to take Taiwan under its control, which is currently the largest center for the production of advanced semiconductors.Under the new strategy, Japan will encourage foreign semiconductor manufacturers to build factories in the country, in particular, funds of over $2.7 billion to build a plant in Kumamoto prefecture will be allocated to TSMC - the plant will supply semiconductors to Sony and car parts manufacturer Denso Corp.In July Japan pledged $635.5 million in subsidies to help manufacturers The funds will also be allocated to U.S.
Micron Technology to expand production in Hiroshima.Image source: Jezael Melgoza/unsplash.comThe establishment of the new company signals the beginning of a new phase of Japan's semiconductor strategy.
In addition, the country continues to deepen technological cooperation in the relevant field with the U.S.
- in July, Japan and the United States agreed to establish a joint research center for the development of fast and energy-efficient semiconductors to 2 nm.
The center is expected to be ready by the end of this year.Japan has a lot of catching up to do.
The country's most advanced production lines are capable of producing 40-nm chips - it has not had the opportunity to invest in the industry comparable to rival states, which those states have been actively spending on industry development since the 2010s.Rapidus has already secured funds from the Organization for the Development of New Energy and Industrial Technology, Japan's national research center.
Businesses like Toyota, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp, as well as Kioxia Holdings, for example, are also investing in the company.

Chip imports to China fell markedly in 2022 amid US sanctions, especially in October

Chip imports to China fell by more than 13% from January to October, according to Chinese customs, as the world's largest semiconductor market is affected by the growing trade standoff between the US and the Middle Kingdom as well as a general economic slowdown.
Source image: TSMSZThe first 10 months of the year, China imported 458 billion integrated circuits, which is 13.2% less than the 527.9 billion chips imported into the country in the same period last year.
In October the decline in imports markedly accelerated - during the first 9 months of decline was an average of only 12.8%.Decrease in supply volumes is also due to the fact that in 2021 the import of integrated circuits took off - during the first 10 months of growth then was 21.2% year-on-year, so it is difficult to keep up with these figures now.
But despite the decline in the volume of imports, higher prices for chips led to an increase in the value of supplies during this period by 1.3%, leaving $351.2 billion.
In general, chips have long been a major item of imports to China, at one time by the value of purchases such imports overtook crude oil and consumer goods.
Nevertheless, it began to decline at the beginning of this year, the first year-on-year decline since 2020.
The drop in imports in October was 13.7% (to 41.1 billion) compared to October 2021.
By comparison, 47.6 billion chips were imported in September.
The accelerated decline in purchases comes amid Washington's strengthening of export controls and coincides with a global decline in demand for semiconductors as a whole.Source image: TSMC7 October, the Bureau of Industry and Security - a unit of the U.S.
Department of Commerce announced a series of measures to control technology exports to China aimed at weakening the Chinese high-performance semiconductor sector - not only exports to the Middle Kingdom chips themselves, but also equipment for their manufacture, special permits for the production of semiconductors, and a number of other measures.
At the same time, the value of sold year-on-year increased by 6.2%.
The problem may be partly related to the outbreak of coronavirus in the country - due to sanitary restrictions, the ability to fulfill orders was also affected.

TSMC will build another plant in Arizona for $12 billion - 3-nm chips will be produced there

Taiwan's TSMC is preparing to implement another project with multi-billion dollar investments - the company intends to expand the chip factory under construction in Arizona (USA).
In the coming months, the chipmaker plans to announce the construction of an advanced factory north of Phoenix, next to the already under construction facilities that were announced in 2020.
The volume of investments, according to some reports, will be the same as 2 years ago - $ 12 billion.Image source: Maxence Pira/unsplash.comThe company began to actively develop chip production in the U.S.
after Washington has promised semiconductor manufacturers all sorts of grants and incentives for the construction of enterprises on American soil.
Future plant TSMC will produce chips in accordance with the 3-nm process, one of the most advanced to date.In TSMC said that the official ceremony of installation of the first batch of equipment for the manufacture of chips at the first plant in Arizona will be held in December - the beginning of construction was announced two years ago and the beginning of production is scheduled for 2024.
While previously the company was going to produce 5-nm chips in Arizona, now we are talking about more advanced 4-nm variants.
Mass production should begin in 2024.
The timing of commissioning of the second plant is still unknown.The expansion indirectly indicates the manufacturers' optimism about the demand for semiconductors in the long term, even against the backdrop of disappointing market indicators for the current year.
Demand for some chips collapsed after two years of rapid growth during the pandemic, during which demand for computer hardware and electronics skyrocketed.
Many companies, including TSMC, had to go into savings mode and cut capital spending in the short term.Despite the downturn in the industry, semiconductor company executives still expect that in the next decade, global sales will exceed $1 trillion, so intensive investment in manufacturing infrastructure continues, especially since such plans in recent years are actively supported by the United States and Europe, hoping to move the \"center of power\" semiconductor industry from Asia.
Intel and Micron are also trying to save money in the short term, while investing heavily in future projects based on strong demand.This year, the U.S.
has distributed grants for chip production in the amount of $39 billion; the funds themselves will be allocated from next year.
In addition, it also provides tax incentives for equipment for the production of semiconductors.
Europe also intends to increase its production share in the global market of semiconductors up to 20% by 2030.
Large plants typically take several years to build and equip, so companies must make investment decisions in advance.Image source: Robert Murray/unsplash.comThe enormous subsidies in the US and Europe for chip production are a reflection of political leaders realizing their critical importance in the military and civilian sectors.
The active development of the relevant industry in China has caused deep concern in the West, after which the U.S.
stopped promoting the idea of freedom of market relations and imposed tough sanctions on Chinese companies, which include a ban on both exports to the country of advanced chips and equipment for their production.In addition, the United States and its allies are concerned that the most advanced technologies of semiconductors are concentrated in Taiwan, an island that China considers part of its territory.
It is known that in addition to the U.S., TSMC is considering expanding production in Japan and allows the construction of a multibillion-dollar plant in Singapore.

Experts explained why electronics manufacturers are \"swimming\" in chips, while automakers suffer from chip shortages

Recently, news about a total chip shortage has been replaced by information about a mitigation of the situation.
What's more, some reports suggest that TSMC is asking its employees to take a leave of absence as computer makers have noticeably reduced orders, and orders from smartphone makers have declined even further, a trend that will continue into 2023.
Meanwhile, while some manufacturers are not experiencing any shortage of semiconductors, many companies are still suffering from acute shortages.Image source: МicronAs Forbes reports, while TSMC's leading customers - Apple, AMD, Intel, MediaTek, NVIDIA, and Qualcomm are constantly developing more and more advanced processors, they are currently very \"conservative\" about sales forecasts and, therefore, production orders.
In other words, the leading electronics component vendors do not need many chips yet.This is not surprising, because in this sector demand is largely determined by demand for PCs, which, according to Gartner, in April 2021 rose to record levels, sales of the top six PC manufacturers grew at a double-digit percentage rate, and for some time, even triple-digit sales of Chromebooks.
This trend could not last forever, and figures have already appeared on the sale of certain models of Chromebooks for literally $79 (in the US) - even components for them cost more, but the market is already crowded, and demand is satisfied for almost years to come.
At the same time for the release of new models manufacturers have to free up their warehouses from old and expect high demand for components in this segment in the foreseeable future is not necessary.
For example, in its latest earnings report Micron Tecnology reported that demand in the calendar year 2022 will on average be lower than supply, which will lead to a build-up of large stocks in the warehouses of suppliers.
Scarcity typically initiates massive investments in building new capacity and mastering new process technologies, resulting in the occasional oversupply crisis.
Surplus is observed in many industries-but not in all.
In particular, there is no abundance on the market of chips for cars.
The point is that most of the semiconductors for cars are produced according to the so-called \"mature\" process technologies, and most of the demand is for 90-nm semiconductors.
These were considered the most advanced solution around 2002, 20 years ago.
Nevertheless, they are quite in demand, since many components simply do not need ultra-modern technology, and the process of transition to it is costly and long.Image source: BMWFactories continue to use the old tools for production and, since this segment is not the most profitable, for most manufacturers there was no need to invest in new capacity.
Such semiconductors weren't quite enough already by the beginning of the pandemic, and 2020 recorded about an eight-week period in which most auto factories had to partially or completely suspend operations due to sanitary restrictions, after which they withdrew their semiconductor orders.Meanwhile, explosive growth in other sectors requiring chips has put \"obsolete\" production capacity to full use, and as Forbes reports, when automakers tried to restart orders, delivery times for them catast

Russian Aquarius will produce processors on RISC-V architecture

Sanctions limiting the access of domestic companies to technology are forcing Russian business to look for new solutions.
According to Kommersant, citing high-ranking industry sources, Aquarius, widely known in the domestic IT market, is organizing the production of microelectronics on the RISC-V architecture and expects to receive subsidies from the Ministry of Industry and Trade for this.
Other Russian business also shows increased attention to the open architecture.Image source: AquariusAccording to the publication's sources, last year \"Aquarius\" was in talks with Russian suppliers of IP-blocks for RISC-V and was recruiting a team of developers.
Direct production may be organized at Zelenograd-based Mikron, which recently announced its intention to expand chip production.
Although there are rumors that Aquarius may receive a subsidy from the Ministry of Industry and Trade for this project, the Ministry itself has not yet commented on the information.Because RISC-V is an open processor architecture and the technology is freely available to everyone, companies around the world are showing increasing interest in it.
Although its performance is inferior to the popular x86 and Arm, the experts do not exclude the possibility that in the future the RISC-V processors will be able to compete with these solutions.
It is known that Chinese companies, which are also experiencing sanctions pressure from a number of countries, are showing great interest in the technology.According to Kommersant, Akvarius has confirmed work on two projects related to the development of service chips on RISC-V.
As for cooperation with \"Mikron\", \"Aquarius\" believes that it will be possible to work with the plant when it becomes ready \"to cooperate on the production of products on 90 nm technology\".
It is known that the Russian Yadro which is a part of the \"IKS Holding\" also announced its plans to develop RISC-V processors, and in September 2021 the \"Varton Investment Company\" (controls Baikal Electronics) bought a 34% stake in the Russian developer of IP-blocks for RISC-V processors CloudBear.
According to \"Kommersant\", the development and production of microcontrollers on the corresponding architecture is already engaged in the electronics manufacturer Milandr.Image source: AquariusIn late September an association headed by Anna Serebryanikova, who is already president of the Big Data Association, is reportedly established, the prospects of the technology are being studied by a division of Marvel Distribution - F+ tech, which produces phones.
Moreover, Open Mobile Platform (OMP), the developer of Aurora OS controlled by Rostelecom, has also indicated its readiness to participate in relevant projects.According to experts, the possibility of free use of RISC-V makes the platform most promising for Russian chipmakers, because cooperation with companies that own technologies for other types of architectures is virtually impossible today, while there are even ready-made solutions on RISC-V, for example - developed and distributed by Chinese Alibaba.

Intel to build advanced chip packaging plant in northern Italy

The Italian government and Intel have chosen the commune of Vigazio, located near Verona in the Venice region of northern Italy, as the preferred site for a large microchip manufacturing plant.
This is just part of Intel's plan, announced last March, to invest €80 billion to build new production facilities in Europe over the next 10 years.Image source: IntelIts initial investment of €4.5 billion is planned for Italy, but it could grow in the future.
Intel said that the plant in the country will create 1,500 jobs at the plant itself, as well as 3,500 jobs at the company's suppliers and partners.
Production will be launched in the period from 2025 to 2027.
In particular, the company will organize the assembly and packaging of chips in accordance with new technological solutions.According to Reuters sources, the parties detailed the nuances of the agreement in early September.
Vigazio is located near Verona and is close to the Brenner freeway and railroad -- another site in the Piedmont area was also on the short list of potential sites for construction.
One of the reasons for choosing Vigazio is the region's connection to Germany, in particular Magdeburg, where, according to sources, Intel intends to build two more plants.
It is known that earlier it was also considered the possibility of building factories of the company and in other Italian provinces.The closest associates of outgoing Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi (Mario Draghi) intends to conduct behind the scenes negotiations with his successors to ensure that the deal with the semiconductor manufacturer is preserved.
Earlier it was reported that official Rome is ready to invest 40% of all planned Intel expenses in Italy.
It is necessary that the draft agreement is also supported by the new government, which is likely to announce the deal before it is completed.It is known that to develop the semiconductor industry, Rome is also in talks with Franco-Italian STMicroelectronics, Taiwan chip makers MEMC Electronic Materials and TSMC, as well as Israeli Tower Semiconductor, which Intel acquired earlier this year.