TSMC Teases 1.4nm Process for The First Time
Volume production of 1.4nm chips could start in 2027-2028
TSMC, one of the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturers, has revealed their 1.4nm-class manufacturing technology is well underway. This was voiced at the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM). During the meeting TSMC also re-iterated that mass production of its 2nm-class fabrication process is still on track for 2025.
Officially, TSMC’s 1.4nm process node is called A14, according to an independent source. Currently, TSMC has not officially disclosed when it plans to start high-volume production on A14. With N2 (2nm) scheduled for late 2025 and N2P (2nm+) slated for late 2026. We can reasonably assume the A14 production would start after that (2027 – 2028).
It remains to be seen if TSMC plans to adopt High-NA lithography tools (the machines used to create the circuits on a processing chip) For its A14 process. While these tools enable much smaller circuits to be made, they do come with their own challenges.
As with every node advancement, the benefits are mainly the reduced power consumption of a smaller node, as well as being able to pack more transistors into the same space – leading to more powerful chips.
It is too early to be making too many assumptions, but it is certain TSMC is well on its way and is working tirelessly on next generation production nodes.
