Recently Samsung Electronics unveiled its world’s first 3 nm chip, and today South Korean giant held a shipment ceremony of its 3nm chips using next-generation transistor GAA (Gate All Around) technology. The event was held at the company’s V1 line on the Mars Campus.
As per the report, this ceremony event was attended by approximate 100 people including Yi Chang-yang (Minister of Trade, and Industry), Kye Kyung-Hyeon CEO (President) of Samsung Electronics DS Division, and all executives or employees are been encouraged who participated in the 3nm GAA R&D and mass production.
In this Foundry event, Samsung Electronics Foundry Division expressed its conviction of “going ahead to become the best globally with innovation technology” and its ambition to strengthen its business competitiveness with mass production with respect to the 3nano GAA process and proactive foundry technology.
GAA Architecture
Samsung’s GAA technology was implemented for the first time ever, With MBCFET (Multi-Bridge-Channel FET) GAA architecture accelerates the performance limitations of FinFET, improving power efficiency by reducing the supply voltage level, while also enhancing performance by increasing drive current capability.
It is said that compared to the 5nm process, the first-generation 3nm process is effective in the factors below:
- It can reduce power consumption by up to 45%,
- Improve performance by 23% and
- Reduce the area by 16% compared to 5nm,
- while the second-generation 3nm process is to reduce power consumption by up to 50%, improve performance by 30% and reduce the area by 35%.
For more info refer: Samsung tipped to begin chip production using 3nm technology based on GAA architecture: Report (samnews24.com)
Also in his report on the progress of technology development, Vice President Jeong Ki-tae also explained that the company has strongly emphasized overcoming the technology development obstacle as well as limitations, and this has been achieved through various collaborations across business units such as the foundry business unit, semiconductor research institute, and global manufacturing & infrastructure.
Also, notice that Samsung Electronics has begun research & development on the structure of GAA transistors in the early 2000s and since 2017, it has implemented 3-nanometer processes in earnest, and last month announced the mass production of the world’s first 3-nanometer process with GAA technology at its Mars campus and will expand to Pyeongtaek Campus in the future.
The company also applying the 3nm GAA process to high-performance computing (HPC) for the first time and currently they are working with key customers to expand its application to a wide range of products including mobile SoC products as well.
In addition, Lee Jang-kyu, CEO of Telechips, a domestic fabless company, said, “Telechips has high hopes for future product design using Samsung Electronics’ ultra-fine process,” and said, “Samsung Electronics is actively providing ultra-fine foundry processes to domestic fabless and providing various support measures for fabless to expand the scope of product design.”
Good news: Samsung’s 3nm process is shipping
Bad news: No phone chip maker adopts it
The image of Samsung’s foundry has been destroyed, and no mobile phone chip maker will believe and adopt Samsung’s process in the short term. pic.twitter.com/E4VrYxopLv— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) July 25, 2022