Taiwan Semiconductor expects “volume production” of 5G EUV chips in March. HiSilicon’s 5G chips will be coming off that line alongside the April A13 – if they are ready for production.
EUV at Livermore
At least a dozen 5G phones will be announced in the next two weeks for MWC Barcelona. Some of them may start shipping as soon as April, earlier than expected. That’s not guaranteed. The primary chips should be available but the front end of the phones – RF or Radio Frequency – also has been struggling.
End of March, Taiwan Semi promises volume production of 7 nm chips produced using an Extreme Ultraviolet system (EUV.) TSMC is taking delivery on 18 of the US$100 million-plus machines this year. Some will be tested on 5nm, with production expected in 2020. Samsung and TSMC have begun construction on 3 nm facilities that will cost US$20 billion. More
