TSMC announces N4P process as value N3 alternative for 2023 – Industry – News

Contract chip manufacturer TSMC declare A new manufacturing process called N4P. Despite the N4 name, it is a tweaked version of the N5 process technology. TSMC describes N4P as “performance-focused enhancements to the 5nm technology platform” and says it enables comprehensive improvements in performance, efficiency and density.

Starting from naming/series considerations, TSMC has launched five 5nm processes so far. It starts with N5 and branches off N5P and N5HPC. Then came the N4, which was improved and launched as the new N4P.

Talking about performance comparisons, etc., TSMC said that the new N4P can provide “11% higher performance than the N5 process”, but compared with N4, it is only a 6% improvement. Other comparisons only consider the comparison between the new process and N5. The energy efficiency of N4P has increased by 22%, and the transistor density has increased by 6%.

An underlying quality of N4P that may make it more successful/popular is that it also reduces complexity and improves wafer cycle time since it requires fewer masks. Of course, machine time is money, so this is a worthwhile improvement.

Finally, N4P is said to be well supported by TSMC’s silicon IP and electronic design automation (EDA) comprehensive design ecosystem. Current customers can easily migrate from other 5nm platforms, enabling faster, more power-efficient product updates with minimal effort.

TSMC N4P is expected to have its first tapeout in the second half of next year, with a product launch timed to coincide with the debut of N3 (which offers full-node scaling compared to N5) in 2023. N4P represents value, but is still a very modern solution.