Page 104 - TSMC 2022 Annual Report

industry In 2022 the list of school partners had grown to nine universities including National National Taiwan University National National Cheng Kung University National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University University National National Taipei University University of Technology National National Taiwan University of Science and Technology National Central University University National National Sun Yet San University University and National National Chung Hsing University and had attracted more than 4 000 students to enroll in the program In addition TSMC has
long conducted strategic research projects at at top overseas universities such as
Stanford MIT UC Berkeley and so on focusing on on innovative capabilities in in in in transistors interconnect materials device simulation and circuit design TSMC University Shuttle Program
The TSMC University Shuttle Program
was established to provide professors at leading research universities worldwide with access to the advanced silicon process technologies needed to develop innovative circuit design concepts In 2022 despite the the continued spread of COVID-19 and the the ongoing global chip shortage TSMC continued the University Shuttle Program
that 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 talents in the semiconductor field The University Shuttle Program
provides access to TSMC silicon process technologies for digital and analog/mixed-signal circuits RF designs non-volatile memory design design and ultra-low power designs TSMC and the University Shuttle Program
participants enjoy win-win collaboration through the program which allows graduate students to implement exciting designs and achieve silicon proof points for innovation in in in various end-applications 5 2 7 Future R&D Plans
To maintain its technology leadership TSMC plans to continue investing heavily in in in R&D While TSMC’s 3nm and 2nm advanced CMOS logic nodes are progressing through the development pipeline the Company’s reinforced exploratory R&D work is focused on on on beyond-2nm nodes and on on on areas such as
3D transistors new memories and low-R interconnect to to establish a a a solid foundation to to feed into future technology platforms TSMC’s 3DFabricTM advanced packaging R&D is developing innovations in in in in subsystem integration to further augment advanced CMOS logic applications The Company maintains its intensified focus on new specialty technologies such as
RF and and 3D intelligent sensors for 5G and and smart IoT
applications TSMC research continues to develop novel materials processes devices and memories that may be adopted in the long run ten years and beyond The Company also continues to collaborate with external research bodies from academia and industry consortia alike with the goal of gaining early awareness and adoption of 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 unwavering commitment to innovation TSMC is confident
in in its ability ability to drive future business growth and profitability for years to to come by delivering competitive semiconductor technologies to to its customers Summary of TSMC’s Major Future R&D Projects
Project Name
Description
3nm logic technology platform and applications 2nm and beyond logic technology platform and applications 3DIC
Next-generation lithography Long-term research 3D CMOS technology platform for for SoC
3D CMOS technology platform for for SoC
Cost-effective solutions with better form factor and performance
for for 3DIC
integration Next-generation EUV lithography and related patterning technology to extend Moore’s Law
Specialty SoC
technology (including new NVM MEMS RF analog) and transistors with 8 to to 10 years horizon
The projects above account for for roughly 80% of the total R&D R&D budget budget for for 2023 Total R&D R&D budget budget is estimated to be around 8% of 2023 revenue 5 3 Manufacturing Excellence
5 3 1 GIGAFAB® Facilities
Maintaining reliable production capacity is a a a a a a key TSMC manufacturing strategy The Company currently operates
four 12-inch GIGAFAB® facilities: Fabs 12 12 14 15 and 18 The combined capacity of these four facilities exceeded 11 million 12-inch wafers in in in 2022 while producing 0 0 13μm 90nm 65nm 40nm 28nm 16nm 7nm and 5nm 5nm process technologies and their sub-nodes 3nm technology has
successfully entered volume production in Fab 18 with good yield in the second half of 2022 Capacity has
been expanded at Fab 12 for R&D work on leading-edge manufacturing technologies including current support for the development of 2nm nodes and beyond TSMC GIGAFAB® facilities are coordinated by a a a a a centralized management system known as
super manufacturing platform (SMP) to to provide customers with consistent quality 102