Samsung starts chip production with 3-nanometre technology

Compared to the 5nm process, the first-generation 3nm process can reduce power consumption by up to 45%, improve performance by 23% and reduce area by 16%

Samsung Electronics said on Thursday that it has started chip production using its 3-nanometre (nm) technology, implemented for the first time ever globally.

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Compared to the 5nm process, the first-generation 3nm process can reduce power consumption by up to 45%, improve performance by 23% and reduce area by 16%, the semiconductor maker noted in a statement.

Samsung explained that its proprietary technology utilises nanosheets with wider channels, which allow higher performance and greater energy efficiency compared to Gate-All-Around (GAA) technologies using nanowires with narrower channels.

“We will continue active innovation in competitive technology development and build processes that help expedite achieving maturity of technology,” Siyoung Choi, President and Head of Foundry Business at Samsung, said in a statement.

Earlier this month, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the top player in the semiconductor foundry market, said production of its 2nm chips is scheduled to begin in 2025.

Utilising the 3nm technology, Samsung hopes to capture a larger slice of the global semiconductor foundry market, which is currently led by TSMC with a market share of about 54% in the first quarter of this year. Samsung was placed in the second position with about 15% market share in the same quarter, as per market research firm Counterpoint.