TSMC: 32nm in 4Q09, 40nm half-node confirmed
Friday 01st June 2007, 04:17:00 PM, written by Arun
According to Digitimes, TSMC is currently hoping to unveil their 32nm process in Q4 2009, which is approximately 24 months after the 45nm process that will become available in September of this year, and roughly as expected by Moore's Law. This is unlike the 45nm and 65nm transitions, where TSMC reduced the gap with IDMs (Integrated Device Manufacturers) such as Intel, IBM and Texas Instruments.
32nm will be the first node released by TSMC with metal gates and high-k, according to previous reports. This implies that fabless companies will most likely not release products with the technology for about 36 months after Intel, as publicly available products tend to lag behind by at least one year. It is, however, hardly unusual for Intel to lead the industry by one process generation in terms of materials.
It is hard to predict at this point in time when these new processes, including the 40nm half-node, will be used in GPUs and handhelds. Given that the first 65nm GPUs from AMD are being released in July, and that TSMC is unveiling their 45nm process only 16 months after 65nm, it is not impossible that 45nm GPUs will be available before the end of 2008. It seems more likely to us that most of those will be aimed at the first half of 2009, however.
Considering the above, the 55nm half-node might turn out to be a short stopgap for products introduced in late 2007 and in the first half of 2008, while 40nm (if it is universally and rapidly adopted by manufacturers; 80nm wasn't, for example) might last a fair bit longer, as 32nm now looks like a Q4 2010 and beyond node for GPUs. The gap between 45nm and 32nm is no less than 8 months longer than the one between 65nm and 45nm, and that presumably increases the importance of the half-node!
32nm will be the first node released by TSMC with metal gates and high-k, according to previous reports. This implies that fabless companies will most likely not release products with the technology for about 36 months after Intel, as publicly available products tend to lag behind by at least one year. It is, however, hardly unusual for Intel to lead the industry by one process generation in terms of materials.
It is hard to predict at this point in time when these new processes, including the 40nm half-node, will be used in GPUs and handhelds. Given that the first 65nm GPUs from AMD are being released in July, and that TSMC is unveiling their 45nm process only 16 months after 65nm, it is not impossible that 45nm GPUs will be available before the end of 2008. It seems more likely to us that most of those will be aimed at the first half of 2009, however.
Considering the above, the 55nm half-node might turn out to be a short stopgap for products introduced in late 2007 and in the first half of 2008, while 40nm (if it is universally and rapidly adopted by manufacturers; 80nm wasn't, for example) might last a fair bit longer, as 32nm now looks like a Q4 2010 and beyond node for GPUs. The gap between 45nm and 32nm is no less than 8 months longer than the one between 65nm and 45nm, and that presumably increases the importance of the half-node!
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tsmc ± 32nm, 40nm, 45nm, 55nm, 65nm
Latest Thread Comments (4 total)
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Posted by Geeforcer on Friday, 01-Jun-07 19:32:57 UTC 
Posted by Arun on Friday, 01-Jun-07 19:41:43 UTC
Posted by Rangers on Saturday, 02-Jun-07 09:30:01 UTC
Posted by Arun on Saturday, 02-Jun-07 10:04:08 UTC
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