TSMC Begins 4nm Chip Production In Arizona

Taiwan’s TSMC has begun producing chips for US customers in Arizona using its advanced 4 nanometre process, US commerce secretary Gina Raimondo told Reuters, a week before the end of the outgoing Biden administration.

“For the first time ever in our country’s history, we are making leading edge 4nm chips on American soil, American workers, on par in yield and quality with Taiwan,” Raimondo said.

“That’s a big deal – never been done before, never in our history. And lots of people said it couldn’t happen,” she said.

Production had began in recent weeks, she said.

Supply chain shift

In the final period of 2024 the Commerce Department raced to finalise awards under the landmark Chips and Science Act of 2022, including a $6.6 billion (£5.4bn) award to TSMC for its facilities in Arizona, before the end of president Joe Biden’s four-year term.

The $52.7bn in subsidies is intended to bring more chip manufacturing onto US soil after years of seeing production increasingly concentrated in Asia, a situation that led to supply-chain snarls during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Commerce is aiming for the US to produce 20 percent of the world’s most advanced chips by 2030, up from zero before TSMC’s 4nm production in Arizona.

TSMC agreed in April to expand its planned investment in US production by $25bn to $65bn and to build a third fabrication plant in Arizona by 2030.

The company’s second Arizona plant is expected to begin production using the world’s most advanced 2nm process in 2028.

TSMC also said it would use its most advanced A16 chip manufacturing technology in Arizona.

The Commerce award, as well as $5bn in low-cost government loans, was finalised in November.

In October TSMC said early production yields at its first fab in Arizona were about 4 percent higher than comparable factories in Taiwan, in a win for the project.

Advanced chips

Other major awards went to major chipmakers including Samsung Electronics, Intel, SK Hynix and Micron.

Intel’s award was reduced to $7.86bn from a preliminary $8.5bn award after the company won a separate $3bn contract to manufacture chips for the military, called the Secure Enclave programme.

Amkor Technology was granted up to $407m for a plan to build the US’ biggest chip packaging plant in Arizona.

Amkor’s Arizona plant will serve Apple as its first and largest customer, with packaging services for chips produced by TSMC at a nearby facility.