The demand for semiconductors is expected to experience a decline this year but that may not be applicable to all segments of the market. Taiwanese semiconductor company TSMC is projecting that the demand for cutting-edge processors will increase, thanks to sales of early 5G devices. As a result of this, the company is preparing to roll out more advanced technology way ahead of schedule, according to news from the company’s latest quarterly earnings conference.
During the conference, the chipmaker also hinted that its new 5-nanometer (nm) chipmaking process will begin volume production in the first half of 2020. This will enable the first 5nm chips to hit stores around this period next year. 5nm chips come with a smaller size than 7nm and are expected to deliver greater power efficiency and/or more processing capability, depending on the needs of the chip designer. The 5nm process is expected to enable CPUs that previously fit into smartphones to shrink into wearables such as AR glasses and earphones while using smaller batteries and delivering previously unachievable experiences. It will also enable next year’s 5G devices to deliver as much or more power as today’s models while running cooler, with less energy consumption.
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We recall that TSMC became the first to utilise the 7nm chips in large quantity. The 7nm chipsets were utilised by key customers such as Apple and Huawei. The Snapdragon 855 was built on the 7nm wafer but Qualcomm will be utilising Samsung’s 7nm process for the next-gen flagship Qualcomm SoC. It is said to be faster. TSMC isn’t planning to abandon its own 7nm process, though. Instead, the company is expanding the 7nm capacity to meet growing demand, particularly from makers of 5G wireless devices. Company CFO Lora Ho expects strong demand from 5G smartphone and base station makers, though not enough to completely offset slowing demand for older, larger pre-5G parts. TSMC now manufactures chips for companies that include AMD and Intel, with Samsung as its largest and most advanced competitor.
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