Sounds like a response to Intel's 18A process [0], which is also coming in 2026. [0] https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/manufacturing/int...
This is a response to something that’s coming in 2 years? Incredible how far ahead they are
TSMC unveils 1.6nm process technology with backside power delivery
51–60 of 209 posts
Re: TSMC unveils 1.6nm process technology with backside power delivery
#52could someone ELi5 the backside power delivery please ?
ELI5: ICs are manufactured on silicon disks called wafers. Discs have two sides, and traditionally, everything was done on top. We can now do power on the bottom. This makes things go faster and use less power: * Power wires are big (and can be a bit crude). The bigger the better. Signal wires are small and precise. Smaller is generally better. * Big wires, if near signal wires, can interfere with them working optima…
Re: TSMC unveils 1.6nm process technology with backside power delivery
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
1.6 nm is 16 A. If they continue the BS for much longer, the "feature size" will be smaller than the lattice of Si.
You're the one calling it a feature size, not TSMC.
Re: TSMC unveils 1.6nm process technology with backside power delivery
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
Because it's not measuring anything, except the tech generation. It conveys about as much information as "iPhone 14".
It's at least more easily understandable (lower is newer) than the average tech product naming scheme, especially those by Microsoft.
Re: TSMC unveils 1.6nm process technology with backside power delivery
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
Number represents transistor density. 2nm has ~twice the density of 4nm. If you ignore nm as unit of distance it makes sense.
They're using the wrong units if we need to consider the nanometer as something other than a measure of distance.
http://dataphys.org/list/grace-hopper-nanoseconds/
and the field of play here isn't 1D linear .. it's somewhere sort of a bit slightly > 2D (elements can be stacked, there are limitations on how much and how close)
Re: TSMC unveils 1.6nm process technology with backside power delivery
#56could someone ELi5 the backside power delivery please ?
ELI5: ICs are manufactured on silicon disks called wafers. Discs have two sides, and traditionally, everything was done on top. We can now do power on the bottom. This makes things go faster and use less power: * Power wires are big (and can be a bit crude). The bigger the better. Signal wires are small and precise. Smaller is generally better. * Big wires, if near signal wires, can interfere with them working optima…
Re: TSMC unveils 1.6nm process technology with backside power delivery
#57A16 in 2027 vs Intel's 18A in full swing by 2026 feels like a miss on TMSCs behalf. This looks like an open door for fabless companies to try Intel's foundry service.
Re: TSMC unveils 1.6nm process technology with backside power delivery
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
ELI5: ICs are manufactured on silicon disks called wafers. Discs have two sides, and traditionally, everything was done on top. We can now do power on the bottom. This makes things go faster and use less power: * Power wires are big (and can be a bit crude). The bigger the better. Signal wires are small and precise. Smaller is generally better. * Big wires, if near signal wires, can interfere with them working optima…
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I thought it came from Reddit, which is about as far from ‘managerial’ as one can get.
Re: TSMC unveils 1.6nm process technology with backside power delivery
#59Re: TSMC unveils 1.6nm process technology with backside power delivery
#60could someone ELi5 the backside power delivery please ?
ELI5: ICs are manufactured on silicon disks called wafers. Discs have two sides, and traditionally, everything was done on top. We can now do power on the bottom. This makes things go faster and use less power: * Power wires are big (and can be a bit crude). The bigger the better. Signal wires are small and precise. Smaller is generally better. * Big wires, if near signal wires, can interfere with them working optima…
Do you need to align that precisely? Can't the power side have very large landing pads for the wires from the signal side to make it much easier?