TSMC maintains 1.6nm node production forecast for 2026

TSMC maintained its plan to mass produce chips with the N2 manufacturing technology (2nm class) from the end of 2025 and the A16 manufacturing process (1.6nm class) at the end of 2026. The announcement was made at the Open Innovation conference Platform (OIP) 2024 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

“This is basically the same, in fact, it is the same technological planning that you saw during the symposium [tecnológico] six months ago,” said Dan Kochpatcharin, Head of Design Infrastructure Management at TSMC. “We have N2, N2P, which is coming [à] production next year and the year after that. And then [eles são] followed by the A16.”

Technologies

N2, N2P, N2X and A16 share many similarities, all based on gate-all-around (GAA) nanosheet transistors. The N2 series uses super-high-performance metal-insulator-metal (SHPMIM) capacitors to reduce transistor via resistance and improve performance efficiency, while the A16 uses a back-end power delivery network (BSPDN) to improve it. even more.

BSPDN enables superior performance and better energy efficiency, but adds thermal issues that need to be mitigated. Currently, BSPDN is best suited for AI-focused processors in data centers, the market segment that TSMC is targeting with the A16.

N2P improves performance over typical N2 without adding complexities associated with rear power delivery, ideal for client devices such as SoCs for smartphones and entry-level PCs. N2X further improves performance by adding higher voltages, benefiting applications such as high-performance CPUs.

All technologies are scheduled to be ready for mass manufacturing by the end of 2026. TSMC has not announced products that will hit the market in 2027.

Source: Tom’s Hardware.