Samsung Electronics, trying to boost its contract chip manufacturing business, recently announced plans to make chips based on 7-nanometer technology by the end of 2018. The company said that it would use a new photolithography process to tattoo transistors onto these chips, which process information more quickly using less power in less space.
The new production process could be the first to use extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, giving Samsung more ammunition in the fight against market leader TSMC in the made-to-order chip business. And Samsung said that it would use EUV technology from the start of the manufacturing process to the end, rather than reserving it for certain steps.
The company, which only last year split its semiconductor foundry into a separate business unit, gave the update at the Samsung Foundry Forum in Santa Clara, California. Samsung said that its 7nm Low Power Plus (7LPP) process would be ready for production in the second half of 2018, with mass production for customers expected to start by the first half of 2019.
Samsung said that it would manufacture these chips using gate-all-around transistors. These structures differ from FinFETs, which are inside almost all chips manufactured since the 22nm production process was introduced, and which have vertical fins jutting out from the substrate. Gate-all-around transistors have horizontal fins, which act as silicon nanowires or nanosheets.
Last year, Samsung announced plans to use gate-all-around transistors in the 4-nanometer node. But the company claims to have gotten around the physical scaling and performance limitations of the FinFET architecture for another node. Samsung said that its gate-all-around transistors would be based on nanosheets to enhance gate control and significantly boost performance.
