Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) has announced a planned ?18.8 billion investment into 5nm technology, with a view to beginning initial production by the end of 2019.
While direct comparison between different semiconductor companies' process nodes isn't as simple as taking the supposed node size in nanometres and looking for the smaller number - feature size having long been divorced from the claimed node size - the fact that TSMC is forging ahead with 5nm puts it a potential step ahead of rivals. This is particularly true for Intel, which is currently struggling to mass-produce components on its long-delayed 10nm node.
A previous claim from the company that it would be investing ?12.5 billion to build a new plant for 5nm and 3nm production, though, appears to have only been part of the story. Speaking at a company event in Hsinchu, Taiwan, attended by Patently Apple, TSMC's chief executive and vice chair C. C. Wei admitted that the cost of getting the new plant ready for volume production is going to hit around ?18.8 billion - a significant lift from the ?12.5 billion it originally earmarked for the project.
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