In recent times, there have been reports that the U.S. government strongly wants TSMC to start its advanced process production in the U.S. However, for multiple reasons, this is not just a simple process as building a factory on U.S. soil. Nevertheless, it appears that the U.S. government is offering a good support to TSMC and the chipmaker has now made an official announcement. TSMC officially announced today that it will build and operate an advanced semiconductor factory in Arizona, with mutual understanding and support from the US federal government.
According to reports, the Arizona plant will use TSMC’s 5nm technology for semiconductor wafer manufacturing. The foundry will have a 20,000 semiconductor wafers production capacity monthly thus directly creating more than 1,600 high-tech professional positions. It will also create thousands of jobs in the semiconductor ecosystem in the U.S.
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According to TSMC’s schedule, the U.S. chip factory will start construction in 2021. However, it hopes to commence production in 2024. TSMC’s total expenditures on this project (including capital expenditures) is approximately $ 12 billion between 2021 and 2029.
TSMC said that “this US factory not only enables us to better support customers and partners but also provides us with more opportunities to attract global talent”. This project is of vital strategic importance to the vibrant and competitive US semiconductor ecosystem. This will enable some US companies to manufacture their cutting-edge semiconductor products within the US and benefit from world-class semiconductor foundries.
In the United States, TSMC currently has a fab in Camas and Washington. Furthermore, it has design centers in Austin, Texas, San Jose, and California. The Arizona plant will become TSMC’s second production base in the United States. However, it will be the company’s first production base that will deal with an advanced manufacturing process.
Nevertheless, the U.S fab will deal with 5nm chips by 2024. TSMC already has the 3nm process solution and 2nm is in development. The general expectation is that by 2024, 5nm will not be so advanced relative to 3nm or 2nm processes.