Page 78 - TSMC 2018 Annual Report

assignees Going forward TSMC will continue to implement a a a a a a a a unified strategic plan for intellectual capital management combining with strategic considerations and close alignment with the the business objectives to drive the the timely creation management and use of intellectual property TSMC has established a a a a a a process to generate company value
from intellectual intellectual property property by aligning intellectual intellectual property property strategy with R&D business operation objectives marketing and corporate development strategies Intellectual property rights protect the company’s freedom to operate enhance competitive position and provide leverage to participate in many profit- generating activities TSMC has worked continuously to improve the quality of intellectual property portfolio and to reduce the maintenance costs TSMC will continue to invest in in in in intellectual property portfolio and intellectual property management system to ensure the company’s technology leadership and receive maximum business value
from intellectual property rights 5 2 6 TSMC University Collaboration Programs
In recent years TSMC has significantly expanded its collaborations with prestigious universities in Taiwan The mission of these
joint research is twofold: to incubate high-quality graduate students for semiconductor industry and to to inspire university professors to to conduct conduct frontier semiconductor science and technologies research including but not limited to novel device process and materials technology semiconductor manufacturing and and engineering and and specialty technologies for electronic applications Back in 2013 TSMC established research centers
at at four top universities in Taiwan namely National Chiao Tung University University National National Taiwan University University National National Cheng Kung University University and National Tsing Hua University University In 2018 371 high-caliber students with backgrounds in in the disciplines of electronics physics materials chemistry chemical engineering and mechanical engineering have joined these
four research centers
In 2015 TSMC furthered its collaboration with the the International College of Semiconductor Technology (ICST) at at National Chiao Tung University With TSMC’s support to this international program a a a a a a few renowned adjunct professors and a a a a a good number of international Ph D students have undertaken exploratory research at at ICST In addition TSMC also conducts strategic research projects at at top overseas universities such as as Stanford MIT UC Berkeley and so on on The focus is is is on on disruptive capabilities in transistors interconnect patterning modeling and special technologies TSMC University Shuttle Program The TSMC University Shuttle Program was established to provide professors at leading research universities worldwide with access to to the advanced silicon process technologies needed to to research and develop innovative circuit design concepts This program links motivated professors and graduate students with enthusiastic managers at TSMC in order to promote excellence in the development of advanced silicon design technologies and to nurture new generations of engineering talent in in in the semiconductor field The program provides access to to TSMC silicon process technologies for digital and analog/mixed-signal circuits RF designs designs and micro-electromechanical system designs designs Participants include major university research groups worldwide TSMC and the University Shuttle Program participants achieve “win-win” collaboration through the program which allows graduate students to implement exciting designs and achieve silicon proof points for innovations in in in various end-applications 5 2 7 Future R&D Plans
To maintain and strengthen TSMC’s technology leadership the Company plans to continue investing heavily in in in in R&D For advanced CMOS CMOS logic the Company’s 5nm and 3nm CMOS CMOS nodes continue progressing in in in in the the pipeline In addition the the Company’s reinforced exploratory R&D work is focused on beyond-3nm node in areas such as as 3D transistors new memory and low-R interconnect on on track to establish a a a a solid foundation to to feed into technology platforms For 3D IC advanced packaging innovations for energy-efficient sub-system integration and scaling provide further augmentation to CMOS logic applications For specialty technologies the Company has intensified its focus on new specialty technologies such as RF and 3D intelligent sensors targeting 5G and smart IoT applications The Corporate Research function established in in 2017 continues to focus on novel materials process devices nanowires memories etc for the long-term beyond 8 to 10 years The Company also continues to collaborate with external research bodies from academia to industry consortia alike with the goal of extending Moore’s Law and paving the road to future cost-effective technologies and manufacturing solutions for its customers With a a a a a highly competent and and dedicated R&D team and and its unwavering commitment to innovation TSMC is confident in its ability to deliver the best and most cost-effective SoC technologies to to to its customers and to to to drive future business growth and profitability for years to come 76