Samsung to Mass-Produce 2nm Chips in 2025, 1.4nm Chips in 2027

Samsung today laid out plans to start mass producing 2nm chips in 2025 and 1.4nm chips in 2027.

At the Samsung Foundry Forum & Safe Forum 2022(Opens in a new window) being held in San Jose this week, the roadmap to 1.4nm(Opens in a new window) was detailed by Dr. Si-young Choi, president and head of Foundry Business at Samsung Electronics.

2027 looks to be a very important year for Samsung. Not only will it be mass-producing 1.4nm chips, the company is aiming to triple its advanced nodes production capacity and increase its non-mobile (e.g. high performance computing and automotive) foundry portfolio by 50%.

With 3nm chips already rolling off production lines, I doubt many would bet against Samsung achieving its 2025 and 2027 goals.

(Credit: Samsung)

Dr. Si-young Choi said this can only be achieved through investment and “foundry platforms specialized for each application.” Samsung is adopting a “Shell-First” strategy for its foundry operations going forward, which will see a focus placed on building cleanrooms first. The fab equipment that fills them will come later and the process will remain flexible so Samsung can quickly change course depending on demand from different market sectors.

The foundry capacity expansion will include all of Samsung’s existing locations at Giheung, Hwaseong and Pyeongtaek in Korea; and Austin, Texas. There’s also a new $17 billion semiconductor factory under construction in Taylor, Texas to add to the mix. It looks as though the Taylor foundry is going to be the showcase for this new Shell-First strategy.

Alongside the move to smaller process nodes, Samsung is continuing to develop its chip packaging. X-Cube (Extended Cube) chip packaging technology was first introduced(Opens in a new window) by the company in 2020 and allows for ultra-thin stacking of multiple chips, making for a more compact semiconductor. Samsung is aiming to produce a 3D packaging X-Cube with micro-bump interconnection by 2024 and then a bump-less version in 2026. Not only will this help Samsung continue to make its processors smaller and faster, it allows for easier custom chip design to suit specific needs.

Samsung is also set to detail a number of new foundry technologies and strategies this week that will help with “Electronic Design Automation (EDA), IP, Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT), Design Solution Partner (DSP) and the Cloud.”

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