TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is mulling expanding its upcoming Arizona fab to include cutting-edge 3nm chips, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Wednesday (Nov. 9).
Sources told The WSJ that TSMC will announce the plans in the coming months, and that the scale of the expansion could be in the ballpark of US$12 billion (NT$382 billion), matching the investment for the 5nm plant the Taiwanese chipmaker is currently building in North Phoenix.
TSMC is planning on holding a ceremony in Phoenix in December to install its first shipment of production equipment, per The WSJ. The world’s largest contract chipmaker had initially planned to produce 5nm chips at the Phoenix fab, but now sources say TSMC could manufacture 4nm chips there, which are actually just an enhanced version of its 5nm process.
The report also said the company plans to increase monthly capacity from its previously announced 20,000 12-inch wafers. The Phoenix fab is expected to begin commercial production in 2024.
Part of the TSMC decision to expand further in the U.S. could be tied to Washington’s push to provide substantial subsidies and tax breaks to chipmakers to expand advanced semiconductor manufacturing in America. The U.S. this year has set aside US$39 billion for semiconductor grants that should be distributed next year, plus tax breaks on chipmaking equipment.
In response to The WSJ report, TSMC told the outlet that it is constructing another building at its Phoenix site that could potentially be used for a second plant. However, TSMC said it has not made a final decision yet.
While TSMC is expanding its international footprint with news fabs in the U.S. and Japan, it is still keeping the lion’s share of its capacity, in addition to its most advanced technologies in Taiwan.
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