TSMC representative in an interview with EE Times admitted that after two years they expect to eliminate the technological gap between Intel company . This means that in 2017 TSMC is going to start mass production of semiconductors with a rate of 10 nm. Intel, the recently reported the first 10-nm processors can bring to the market in the first quarter of 2017.
It should be noted, TSMC company has been trying to catch up with Intel, but only here in the last three or four years the issue of lag moved to another plane. Intel has gradually started to contract production of semiconductors and former clients can offer more advanced process technology TSMC. It's not cheap, but the competition among suppliers of turnkey solutions also escalated, forcing them to look for all the latest and greatest.
Now conditionally honest 14-nm solutions only from Intel. TSMC company , as Samsung and GlobalFoundries, accommodates produce 16-nm solutions while maintaining the 20-nm geometry in metal layers (compound contact groups, insulators). In the case of 10-nm TSMC will go to the production of completely identical in geometry elements. In other words. And it is no longer necessary for bravado. According to numerous and persistent rumors, the struggle for an order for the release of 10-nm SoC for Apple also joined by Intel. Even if it's just a rumor, TSMC have to try to prevent the emergence of such options.
Semiconductor manufacturing company TSMC, as Intel will use 193-nm immersion lithography scanners. Certain critical layers, however, can be prepared for release using EUV-scanners, but if ASML company is able to prepare their equipment in specified time . It is expected that the transition from 16 nm FinFET solutions at 10 nm FinFET allow 25% and raise the clock frequency to reduce the consumption by 45% and 2.2 times increase in yield crystals with 300 mm silicon substrate.