TSMC costs only 10% higher in the US
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TSMC’s chip making costs are likely to be only 10% higher in the US than Taiwan, says a leading analyst.
“It costs TSMC less than 10% more to process a 300mm wafer in Arizona than the same wafer made in Taiwan,” said Dan Hutcheson, vice chair at analyst TechInsights
The first fab in Phoenix Arizona is scheduled to start full production of 5nm and 4nm chips in the next few months, and initial wafer runs have shown yields 4% higher than the fabs in Taiwan. Two other fabs are planned or being built, with Fab 2 aiming to support the 3nm FinFET process by the end of 2028 and Fab 3 for 2nm and A16 (1.6nm) with nanosheet transistors by 2030.
The cost of production in the US has been one of the leading issues that TSMC has flagged.
So TechInsights used its Semiconductor Manufacturing Economics Strategic Cost and Price Model to assess the TSMC leading edge process technology, going down to the individual tools and process steps.
“Importantly, fabless and hyperscalers worldwide trust it to put their foundries to task about wafer prices,” says Hutcheson.
The results of the model show that labour costs, which are higher in the US and Europe, do not drive up the end chip cost unduly.
“Labour accounts for less than 2% of total costs. It’s equipment that levels the playing field. Well over two-thirds of wafer cost is in the equipment. That’s why the overall wafer cost difference between Arizona and Taiwan comes in at just under 10%,” said Hutcheson.
www.techinsights.com; www.nist.gov/chips/tsmc-arizona-phoenix
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