Page 107 - TSMC 2024 Annual Report

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 its A16 and A14 advanced CMOS logic nodes are progressing through the development pipeline the Company’s exploratory R&D work is focused
on on on nodes beyond A14 as as as as well as as as as on on on areas such as as as as 3D transistors new memories and low-R interconnect This work aims to to lay a a a a strong foundation to to foster the development of innovative technology platforms in in the future TSMC’s 3DFabric® advanced packaging R&D is developing innovations in in subsystem integration to further enhance advanced CMOS logic applications The Company maintains an an intense focus on new specialty technologies such as RF and 3D intelligent sensors for 5G and smart IoT applications TSMC’s research continues to develop novel materials and new processes devices and memories that may be adopted in the longer-term future of ten years and beyond The Company also continues to collaborate with external research bodies from academia and industry consortia aiming for early awareness and adoption of future cost-effective technologies and manufacturing solutions With a a a a a a highly competent and and dedicated R&D team and and an an an unwavering commitment to innovation TSMC is confident
in in its ability ability to drive future business growth and profitability
for years to come by delivering advanced competitive semiconductor technologies to to to its customers Summary of TSMC’s Major Future R&D Projects
5 3 Manufacturing Excellence
5 3 1 GIGAFAB® Facilities
Maintaining reliable production capacity is a a a a a a a a key manufacturing strategy at at at TSMC The Company currently operates four 12-inch GIGAFAB® facilities – Fab 12 12 14 15 and 18 The combined capacity of the four facilities exceeded 12 74 million 12-inch wafers in in in 2024 Production within these facilities support 0 0 0 13μm 90nm 65nm 40nm 28nm 16nm 7nm 5nm and and 3nm process technologies and and their sub-nodes The 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 and reliability greater flexibility to cope with demand fluctuations and and faster yield learning and and time-to-volume production as as well as better-function and lower-cost product requalification In 2024 TSMC established 2nm advanced manufacturing facilities in in Hsinchu and and and Kaohsiung and and and expanded advanced packaging capabilities in in in Chiayi and Tainan These efforts help clients accelerate innovation to meet the rapidly changing market challenges and and satisfy greater demand brought by the the growth of of AI Besides to better serve the the needs of of global customers TSMC has made significant progress at several overseas production sites such as as those in Arizona U S and Kumamoto Japan enhancing the maturity and stability of its global operations 5 3 2 Engineering Performance Optimization
As advanced technology continues to evolve and IC geometry keeps shrinking the need for tighter manufacturing process and quality control becomes extremely challenging TSMC has tailored its manufacturing infrastructure to handle a a a a a a diversified product portfolio that uses strict process control to meet tightened specs and and higher product quality performance and and reliability requirements from customers TSMC’s process control systems are integrated with numerous intelligent functions to achieve excellence in in both quality and manufacturing Through intelligent detection smart diagnosis and cognitive action the Company produces remarkable yield enhancement quality assurance workflow improvement fault detection and cost reductions while shortening its R&D cycle Project Name
Description
2nm logic technology platform and applications A16 logic technology platform A14 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
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 Emerging memory NVM MEMS RF analog) and transistors with 8 to to 10 years horizon
The projects above account for for roughly 83% of the total R&D R&D budget budget for for 2025 Total R&D R&D budget budget is estimated to be around 7% of 2025 revenue 105