When Samsung and TSMC laid out their next-generation manufacturing plans, the two chip companies decided to pursue very different goals. TSMC opted for a 20nm half-step node that would shrink die sizes but retain conventional planar silicon, while Samsung decided it would leap straight for 14nm manufacturing and introduce FinFETs directly after the 28nm node. Now, that decision to skip 20nm altogether is paying dividends for the Korean manufacturer — it’s hitting its 14nm stride while TSMC is still ramping 20nm, and expecting to sign multiple new customers (and a few old ones) because of it.
We’ve previously discussed how Apple was expected to move manufacturing back to 14nm at Samsung after using TSMC’s 20nm node for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, but new information suggests that companies like Qualcomm and Nvidia are ramping hardwarethere as well. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard rumors of Samsung fabbing for Nvidia, but it’s been several years since they last cropped up. Nonetheless, the timing makes sense — TSMC’s 20nm node ultimately offered fairly incremental gains over 28nm. Its 16nm FinFET node will offer a much larger improvement, but won’t be available for volume production until 2016. given the inevitable lead times between the beginning of volume production and commercial shipments, we can expect Samsung to have a 9-18 month lead over its rival (depending on the exact components and cost structure for the parts).
Samsung’s 14nm FinFET
With access to Samsung’s 14nm technology, multiple manufacturers could deliver quick updates to 20nm hardware with significantly improved performance characteristics. It’s not clear if Nvidia would tap Samsung for its Tegra line of processors (now increasingly relegated to automotive computing), or if the company would manufacture GPUs at Samsung plants. There have been rumors that Nvidia might skip 20nm altogether, and while that would surprise us, since the GPU industry tends to be a rapid adopter of virtually every node, it’s possible that Nvidia might have built Maxwell on 28nm as a stopgap while it prepares a 14nm sequel for later in the year. AMD is known to be building 20nm hardware, but which fab its using (TSMC or GlobalFoundries) and when those parts will launch is still a matter of speculation.
Speaking of AMD, there’s a good chance that this move will drive business to its erstwhile fab partner, GlobalFoundries. GF signed a deal to deploy Samsung’s fabrication technology in 2014 and to serve as the Korean manufacturer’s second source capacity. Any deal Samsung makes with Apple, Nvidia, or Qualcomm could also kick business over to GF as well. Samsung’s 14nm tech is also thought to be the reason why the company dropped Qualcomm from the Galaxy S6 — using its own 14nm chips in a flagship device gives it more ability to capture the profits from its sale.
Samsung’s semiconductor business earned $2.5B in operating profits in 2014, with further gains expected throughout this year. Assuming it ships 14nm in volume, this will be the first time in more than a decade that a contract foundry other than TSMC has blazed the trail on a new process node.
