Samsung Electronics, at its fifth annual Samsung Foundry Forum (SFF) 2021, announced the plans for continuous process technology migration to 3- and 2-nanometer (nm) based on the tech giant's Gate-All-Around (GAA) transistor structure. At SFF 2021, Samsung will elaborate its role in enhancing foundry business' process technology, manufacturing operations, and foundry services to strengthen its leadership in the foundry market.
President and Head of Foundry Business, Dr. Siyoung Choi stated:
We will increase our overall production capacity and lead the most advanced technologies while taking silicon scaling a step further and continuing technological innovation by application. Amid further digitalization prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, our customers and partners will discover the limitless potential of silicon implementation for delivering the right technology at the right time.
Samsung's GAA technology, Multi-Bridge-Channel FET (MBCFET), with its flexible design capacity, and improved power and performance, is crucial for continuing process migration. The company's first 3nm GAA process node employing MBCFET will allow nearly 50 percent lower power consumption, 30 percent higher performance, or a 35 percent decrease in area, compared to the 5nm process.
Samsung will start producing the first 3nm-based chip designs of its customers in 2022, and 3nm's second generation will be available in 2023. The 2nm process node with MBCFET will be mass-produced in 2025. The tech giant is also strengthening its 14nm process to support 3.3V high voltage or flash-type embedded MRAM (eMRAM) which allows enhanced write speed and density.
Samsung Foundry's FinFET process technology brings a 17nm FinFET process node that supplies an almost 49 percent increase in power efficiency, 39 percent higher performance, or a 43 percent decrease in area, compared to the 28nm process. Samsung Foundry's SAFE Forum will be held virtually in November 2021.