Foreign media pointed out that this year's ASML's 10 2-nanometer lithography allocation has been basically determined, Intel got 6, Samsung got 3, TSMC can only get one, considering the strong influence of the United States on ASML, foreign media of these news should have a high credibility.
Intel in the advanced process process, since the mass production of 14 nm in 2014, 10 nm, 7 nm mass production have been delayed, resulting in its advanced process process has completely lagged behind samsung and TSMC, as the United States of America's chip leader, the United States hopes that Intel to regain control of the leading edge of the chip process, and therefore a strong request for ASML to prioritize the allocation of up to 2 nm photolithography machine to Intel.
The United States has such influence on ASML, is that many of the shareholders of ASML are U.S. investment institutions, and the most advanced EUV lithography technology is provided by the United States, the U.S. gradually EUV alliance after the development of successful EUV lithography technology, the technology will be given to ASML rather than Japan's lithography companies, which has led to the achievement of the status of ASML as the world's largest lithography companies.
The remaining four 2nm lithography machines were originally said to be competed for by TSMC and Samsung, but due to the fact that many of Samsung's shareholders are U.S. investment institutions, as well as South Korea has always been obedient to the U.S., coupled with a number of other geographical factors, the U.S. still favors Samsung, and ASML was asked to allocate three 2nm lithography machines to Samsung.
In contrast, TSMC has not been willing to fully comply with U.S. demands, and has been trying to decentralize its plants as the U.S. tries to leverage the influence of U.S. chips being TSMC's largest customer. TSMC has set up factories in Japan, the United States and mainland China, but also plans to set up factories in Europe, but recently with Germany in the chip subsidies in the swing, European factory plans have been halted.
TSMC decentralized plant, is hoping to get more customers, reduce the current over-reliance on the United States chip situation, through many customers to check and balance each other, to ensure that TSMC's own right to speak, which is also an enterprise's way of doing business, TSMC is doing so is not to be criticized, but the United States will think that TSMC is not too obedient.
Before the United States asked Samsung and TSMC to turn over confidential data and to set up factories in the United States, Samsung are quickly comply with, while TSMC is behind a beat, which shows that the TSMC side of the attitude towards the United States and Samsung has not a small difference, which leads to the United States of America on the TSMC is more "caring", naturally, in the allocation of 2-nanometer lithography time will be "Take care" of TSMC.
2 nm lithography on the three chip manufacturing enterprises to develop 2 nm and the following process is very important, TSMC and Samsung has mass production of the world's most advanced 3 nm process, but the two companies have found that the existing first-generation EUV lithography can not be 3 nm to the economic cost of the high yield level, TSMC's 3-nanometer process yield is only 55%, Samsung is even as low as less than two percent.
In this case, the technical difficulty of the higher 2-nanometer is even more unlikely to use the existing EUV lithography mass production, which triggered the three major chip manufacturers to compete for 2-nanometer lithography, who is more the first to get more 2-nanometer lithography, not only help to improve the 3-nanometer process yield, but also accelerate the development of the 2-nanometer and the following process.
From this year's 10 2 nm lithography allocation, Intel got the first, Samsung second, TSMC can only get a and likely to be the last to get, which leads to TSMC hopes that next year's mass production of 2 nm process plan to fall through, which is quite unfavorable to TSMC.
In contrast, get as many as six 2 nm lithography Intel if you can take the lead in the mass production of 2 nm and the following process, in today's Intel has begun to develop the foundry business in a big way, the United States is likely to many U.S. chip companies to exert an influence, prompting them to transfer orders from TSMC to Intel, Intel has been among the world's top ten chip foundries for the first time in 2023, it is It is difficult to say that there is no U.S. influence.
Chips represent a country's level of science and technology, in recent years the United States of America's influence on the global chip industry has declined significantly, in the 2-nanometer process of the contest, the United States naturally want to take full control, consolidate its advantage in advanced chip technology, which prompted it to find ways to take care of enterprises conducive to consolidating their own technological superiority, and TSMC has clearly not been regarded by the United States as its own people.
