A few months back, a report surfaced that Qualcomm plans to dual-source the production of its first 2nm chip, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5. The company was said to split its manufacturing between Samsung and TSMC, the world’s two largest semiconductor foundries. It may have yet to finalize the production plan, though. Qualcomm recently requested 2nm samples from both foundries and may take the final call depending on their results.
Samsung and TSMC could manufacture Qualcomm’s first 2nm chip
Qualcomm has always maintained healthy relationships with Samsung and TSMC. The American semiconductor giant frequently switches between the two leading foundries for the production of its flagship smartphone processors. It used TSMC’s foundry between 2013 and 2015, switched to Samsung in 2016, went back to TSMC in 2019, returned to Samsung in 2021, and then switched to TSMC again in 2022.
TSMC manufactured the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. It is also expected to manufacture this year’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, which will be Qualcomm’s first 3nm chip. Reports suggest Samsung lost the race due to a poor 3nm yield rate and production capacity. However, it is now in contention to manufacture the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 next year. That’s if it impresses Qualcomm with its 2nm yield rate, production capacity, and performance.
Samsung and TSMC will start mass production on their respective 2nm processes in 2025, and Qualcomm wants to try out both processes. Depending on the results of prototype samples, it will pick one or both foundries for the mass production of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5. Industry insiders say TSMC will manufacture the standard solution while Samsung will produce the “For Galaxy” version used in its S-series flagships.
Since both foundries are still finalizing their 2nm processes, there are uncertainties about performance and yield. Qualcomm reportedly won’t finalize the production plan for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 before the end of this year or in early 2025. Prototype development itself usually takes six months to a year, so Qualcomm won’t receive early 2nm samples anytime soon. It remains to be seen if Samsung manages to win Qualcomm’s trust this time around.
Samsung has the advantage of using the GAA architecture in its 3nm chips
Samsung is likely hoping for its experience in making chips with the GAA (Gate All Around) transistor architecture to come in handy when it starts mass-producing 2nm chips. The company employed the new architecture for its 3nm solutions. TSMC stuck with the previous-gen FinFET architecture for its 3nm chips. The Taiwanese firm will switch to the GAA architecture for the 2nm solutions. Whether Samsung makes this advantage count, time will tell.
2024-02-13 15:07:11