The five major customers questioned that the quotation is too high, and it is rumored that TSMC will cut the price of 3nm

According to industry sources, Broadcom has placed an order for 3nm chips with TSMC, and is queuing up with Apple, Qualcomm, MediaTek, Nvidia and AMD for TSMC’s N3 and N3E process.

According to Taiwan media Electronic Times, sources said that despite market speculation that Broadcom may lose Apple’s cellular modem chip orders before 2025, Broadcom has signed a 3nm chip production order with TSMC in 2022.

Sources pointed out that if Broadcom withdraws some of its 3nm chip orders with TSMC due to the loss of Apple’s orders, TSMC will still be able to grab Apple’s internal orders to replace Broadcom chips.

It is reported that TSMC held a 3nm mass production expansion ceremony on December 29, 2022 at the new site of Fab No. 18 in Taiwan Southern Science Park (STSP).

Liu Deyin, chairman of TSMC, said at the ceremony that the current yield rate of the 3nm process is comparable to that of 5nm mass production in the same period, and it has been mass-produced and is helping customers develop new products. Compared with 5nm, the logic density of 3nm process is increased by 60%, and the power consumption is reduced by 30-35% at the same speed, which is the most advanced technology in the world.

In terms of market demand, Liu Deyin said that TSMC’s 3nm process market demand is very strong. The mass production of 3nm process technology will start in the first year, and the annual revenue will be greater than that of 5nm in the same period. According to estimates, within 5 years of mass production of 3nm technology, the value of terminal products worldwide will release 1.5 trillion US dollars.

In terms of yield, semiconductor industry analysts and experts estimate that TSMC’s current 3nm yield can be as low as 60% to 70%, or as high as 75% to 80%, which is quite good for the first batch.