Samsung have unveiled their brand new 3 nanometre semiconductor wafer technology, a first for the industry. During a summit talk between South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and US president Joe Biden, the two signed two of the wafers.

The 3nm technology is faster and uses less power than current 5nm technology, making it ideal for strenuous tasks such as AI, big data and autonomous cars.

Samsung’s 3nm chips will make use of gate-all-around-field-effect transistor tech (GAAFET), which has almost 50% less power consumption and is 35% more powerful than the current fin field-effect transistor tech (FinFET).

The new technology sees Samsung take on the foundry market leader TSMC, who made up 52.1 percent of the global foundry market at the end of the last fiscal year, with Samsung way behind in second at 18.3 percent, according to TrendForce.

TSMC is currently planning to release their own 3nm technology, however they will continue to use FinFET in favour of stability.

Samsung were previously plagued by low yield rates of 20-30% when first working with GAAFET tech, however that has since improved, leading to the company to look at mass production. GAAFET technology will be necessary for further developments in semiconductor technology.

The visit by US president Joe Biden is likely to encourage budding relationships between chip makers and clients, with many of them coming from the US. CEO of Qualcomm Cristiano Amon was also present, which will likely further develop the relationship between them and Samsung.

Samsung are set to build a $17 billion USD foundry plant in Taylor Texas, and are soon looking to start construction, further bolstering their relationship with US clients and helping to alleviate the chip shortage.

 

• Link : By Daniel Croft, Channelnews