TSMC could delay production start date for second Arizona chip factory
Jan 19, 2024, 1:00 PM
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is building its massive chip factories in north Phoenix. (TSMC Photo)
(TSMC Photo)
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is reassessing the production start date and the type of chip products it will manufacture at its second Arizona fab now under construction in north Phoenix.
On a Jan. 18 earnings call after the Taiwan-based computer chip juggernaut released its fourth-quarter financial report, TSMC Chairman Mark Liu said the company might shift the second fab’s opening date to 2027 or 2028, depending upon customer demand and U.S. government incentives. TSMC had previously announced plans to begin production at the second fab in 2026.
TSMC remains on track to begin operations at its first Arizona fab — that will supply chips to Apple — in the first half of 2025, where it will produce 4-nanometer chips.
“We are well on track for volume production of N4, or 4-nanometer process technology, in first half of 2025,” Liu said, “and are confident that, once we begin operations, we will be able to deliver the same level of manufacturing quality and reliability in Arizona as from our fabs in Taiwan.”
In addition, Liu said the type of technology that will be produced at TSMC’s second fab in Arizona is under discussion. The company previously said it would produce 3-nanometer chips at the fab.
“… Nothing is definitive, but we are trying to optimize the value for the overseas fab for TSMC,” Liu said, referring to the second Arizona factory.
This story is posted in partnership with Phoenix Business Journal. Click to read the full story.
