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It’s been a couple of years since chipset manufacturers started making flagship chips using a 5nm process. With rapid development in technology, the change happens pretty soon and the same is true for the manufacturing process as well.

Chipset makers like TSMC and Samsung have already confirmed that they are working on the next-generation 3nm and 2nm processes for manufacturing chipsets. TSMC, which is the world’s largest contract manufacturer for chips, is set to being the production of chips based on a 3nm process next year.

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Now, a report from DigiTimes (via ITHome) claims that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company isn’t just planning for 3nm chips but will also have an enhanced version of the same in the form of N3E, which will go into production in 2023.

Currently, TSMC uses the N5P process, which is an enhanced version of the N5 or 5nm process and the technology is being used for manufacturing the Apple A15 Bionic chipset. It is claimed to be more energy-efficient compared to the standard N5 process.

Previous reports have claimed that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company will start mass production of 3nm chipsets in the second half of 2022, with a capacity to process 30,000 wafers. It will then expand the monthly production capacity to 55,000 units in 2022 and within a year after that, it plans to expand to 105,000 units a month.

Compared to the current 5nm process, the new 3nm process reduces power consumption by 30 percent and increases performance by 15 percent. Even with orders for 3nm chips, the company will continue to focus on 5nm chips as well.

A couple of months ago, it was reported that the majority of TSMC’s 3nm production capacity has been secured by Apple, followed by AMD and NVIDIA. This news contradicts previous reports, which stated that even Intel has secured the majority of TSMC’s 3nm production capacity.

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