The United States wants to build 6-7 semiconductor factories. TSMC, Samsung, and Intel share the tasks?!

US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo recently said that the United States may build six or seven semiconductor factories to help solve the global chip shortage.

In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Raimondo said that the U.S. plan is that the U.S. relies heavily on TSMC to obtain a high proportion of semiconductors. Therefore, it may be necessary to build 6 to 7 semiconductor factories in the country in the future to help solve the global chip shortage. To avoid the United States fragilely relying too much on a single company or country/region.

This is the latest news revealed by foreign media yesterday. Senior US officials have determined that 6-7 semiconductor factories will be built in the United States in the future. Of course, they must be advanced processes of 5nm and 3nm.

Since the White House invited a group of major manufacturers to hold a semiconductor conference in April, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Raymondo has been very tough and urgent. In early May, he has repeatedly stated that the United States needs to return the supply chain, especially pharmaceuticals and chips. 30% of the chips in the United States should be produced locally. Cooperate with TSMC to give priority to the development of automotive chips.

Although the United States holds a large number of chip design and equipment production patents in the semiconductor industry, the chip manufacturing process is a weakness for the US semiconductor industry. For this reason, companies such as Apple and Nvidia have handed over chip orders to Asian companies for production. If things go on like this, it will only make the US more and more passive in the field of chip manufacturing.

The question now is that the United States is determined to build 6-7 advanced process technology wafer fabs in China, who will build it?

The production capacity of advanced semiconductor processes is mainly concentrated in a few companies. The requirements for capital, technology, and research and development of advanced processes have rapidly increased. In addition, the number of customers who can afford advanced processes has decreased. Most manufacturers withdrew from the advanced process competition and focused on mature processes.

With the reduction of the manufacturing process, fabs need to purchase more advanced lithography machines, etching machines, and other equipment, especially EUV lithography machines for 10nm and below processes. At present, only one ASML manufacturer in the world can produce and sell a single unit. The price is about 100 million euros, and the capital expenditure for new production lines is huge.

Out of business model considerations, currently, GlobalFoundries, UMC, and other foundries have publicly announced that they will no longer deploy 10nm and below process production lines. Only TSMC, Samsung, and Intel have deployed 10nm and below Process.

For Americans to be picky, the 6-7 local advanced process wafer manufacturers are TSMC, Samsung, and Intel.

TSMC’s 5-nanometer shipments accounted for 14% of total wafer revenue in the first quarter of 2021, and 7-nanometer shipments accounted for 35% of total wafer revenue. Overall, advanced technologies (7nm and more advanced technologies) accounted for 49% of total wafer revenue.

Samsung's semiconductor business revenue in the first quarter of 2021 was 19.01 trillion won (approximately US$17.131 billion), and 5nm and 7nm production capacity remained high-end.

In March of this year, Intel also vowed to restart its foundry business and strive to become a major provider of global foundry capacity. Intel’s attitude is also very direct. Compared with companies such as TSMC, Intel has more IP than its competitors. Including I/O, advanced packaging technology, software, and other IP, it has more competitive advantages.

According to Reuters news in early May, TSMC is planning to build another five wafer fabs outside of Arizona.

In May 2020, the factory initially announced the establishment of a $12 billion chip factory in Arizona. The factory is one of the steps taken by the Trump administration to bring the global technology supply chain and chip manufacturing back to the United States.

At present, the United States feels that TSMC is too negative and not enough to cooperate with the wishes of the US government, and it is demanding to increase investment. Reuters quoted a source as saying that "TSMC plans to build up to six wafer fabs within the company" and will build these six fabs in the next three years.

Immediately afterward, Reuters reported on May 14 that people familiar with the matter said that TSMC is considering expanding its investment in an advanced process chip factory in Arizona, the amount of which is higher than the previously disclosed level. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that the cost of a more advanced 3-nanometer factory could be between 23 billion and 25 billion U.S. dollars.

The United States is not too cold with the relatively mature 5nm process technology and requires TSMC to invest in a more advanced 3nm process plant.

To be honest, this is forcing Taiwan’s base camp to cut meat. TSMC has always placed the most advanced technology in Taiwan to ensure local control in technology. After all, as a local backbone enterprise in Taiwan, how can you be embarrassed to put core advanced technology in the United States?

However, the Americans are very dissatisfied with TSMC's behavior! It's another way to put pressure and persecution.

For Samsung of South Korea, on May 21st, US President Biden held a meeting with visiting South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the White House, focusing on the US-South Korea alliance, the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, and the two countries’ issues concerning the new crown epidemic, emerging technologies, and climate change. Cooperation.

Then, Samsung immediately stated that it would speed up the pace of investment to build factories in the United States, and even selected the address.

According to foreign media reports, Samsung Electronics has submitted documents to the competent department in Texas to seek to establish a new fab. This new fab may choose to be located near Austin, the capital of Texas, with an estimated investment of US$17 billion (approximately RMB 110 billion) and will create 1,800 jobs.

The Austin fab covers an area of ​​approximately 700,000 square meters and is expected to become the largest single factory in the world. Samsung plans to equip this new factory with the most advanced extreme ultraviolet lithography machine, each priced at more than 18 million U.S. dollars (about 115 million yuan). If everything goes according to plan, the Samsung fab will be completed in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Samsung did not specify which process node this new fab will use. According to industry speculation, it may become the first fab in the United States to use the world's most advanced 3nm process.

The editor feels that since the Americans have implicitly requested the 3nm process from TSMC, they also treat Samsung the same, and they want the best and most advanced process! Don't use that outdated and backward production capacity to perfuse! America first! America first! The United States is not the kind of silly character who can deal with it at will and let you procrastinate indefinitely! (Trump thinks that the United States has been a bad technology exporter for too long, and he needs to change his style! Biden seems to be in the same line!)

As for Intel, although it said as early as March this year that it will build two new wafer fabs in the Ocotillo Park in Arizona, USA, and it is expected to start production in 2024. However, Intel’s 7-nanometer process bumped and bumped, and the company’s financial report was asked by industry analysts when to perfect the relevant process and asked how long it would take for the lagging TSMC and Samsung’s 5-nanometer process to catch up.

In the recent J. P. During the Morgan Global TMC Week event, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger confirmed that the company has completed the "Tape-in" of the 7nm Meteor Lake chip. Tape-in ​​before Tape-Out (tape out), is probably the IP module that completes the design verification stage. Kissinger frankly said that after 10nm stumbling, 7nm has been completed on the right track. We embrace EUV lithography and make progress every day.

According to previously announced information, Meteor Lake (Meteor Lake) is Intel's first-generation 7nm client processor and plans to start shipping in 2023. The 7nm data center processor Granite Rapids will also be delivered in the same year.

Don’t worry about Intel’s 7nm process and TSMC’s 5nm process. Apple chose TSMC’s 5nm process anyway.

Previously, Counterpoint Research released data showing that Apple will become the largest customer of cutting-edge chips manufactured by TSMC's 5nm process node, accounting for 53% of the total output. Due to the increased demand for A14 and A15Bionic chips and M1, Apple's demand for TSMC's 5nm will also increase.