Sort of incredible that Germany is getting decade old technology for this much investment.
TSMC, Bosch, Infineon, NXP to jointly build semiconductor fab in Europe
31–40 of 526 posts
Re: TSMC, Bosch, Infineon, NXP to jointly build semiconductor fab in Europe
#32Sort of incredible that Germany is getting decade old technology for this much investment.
Not everything needs the 5nm cutting edge, and to be fair calling
> 300mm (12-inch) wafers on TSMC’s 28/22 nanometer planar CMOS and 16/12 nanometer FinFET process technology,
old is a bit unfair
Re: TSMC, Bosch, Infineon, NXP to jointly build semiconductor fab in Europe
#33Sort of incredible that Germany is getting decade old technology for this much investment.
They won't use that technology to produce mobile phones or GPUs. There are plenty of application were structure size, performance and/or power draw doesn't really matter. E.g. Automotive / Industrial applications
And it can vary too, mass produced / generic chips can be more cost efficient if they can make more of them on a single wafer.
Re: TSMC, Bosch, Infineon, NXP to jointly build semiconductor fab in Europe
#34Just out of curiosity how hard would it be to re-fit such a foundary to modern <5nm cpu fabs with ASML/Zeiss directly around the corner.
I'm no expert though so might be off by a mile here.
Re: TSMC, Bosch, Infineon, NXP to jointly build semiconductor fab in Europe
#35Sort of incredible that Germany is getting decade old technology for this much investment.
They won't use that technology to produce mobile phones or GPUs. There are plenty of application were structure size, performance and/or power draw doesn't really matter. E.g. Automotive / Industrial applications
The Chips Act was marketed as an attempt to bring back "cutting-edge chips" to Europe, and to promote research and innovation. In the end it turns out to just be a huge government subsidy for a bog-standard fab which is at least a decade behind what TSMC is building in Taiwan.
Great for automotive companies who want to strengthen their supply lines, but pretty pointless when it comes to doing what it was actually supposed to do. Europe already has plenty of fabs like these which did not require billion-euro handouts.
Re: TSMC, Bosch, Infineon, NXP to jointly build semiconductor fab in Europe
#36Great to see they coming to Germany. If Tesla could build a car factory here from scratch, I'm sure that they can build chips too. Curious why they've chosen Dresden though. Anybody knows how much the government is willing to invest? Missing some tangible figures.
Dresden has been a semimanufactoring hub in Eastern Germany for quite some time. I believe this started in GDR times and continued (at massively reduced capacity) after the reunification. Intel, AMD, Infineon and others operate (or plan to build) factories in Dresend (or saxony in general) and its reasonable to assume that experienced workers and local suppliers make the area a preffered location. Given Eastern Germa…
Re: TSMC, Bosch, Infineon, NXP to jointly build semiconductor fab in Europe
#37Great to see they coming to Germany. If Tesla could build a car factory here from scratch, I'm sure that they can build chips too. Curious why they've chosen Dresden though. Anybody knows how much the government is willing to invest? Missing some tangible figures.
Re: TSMC, Bosch, Infineon, NXP to jointly build semiconductor fab in Europe
#38Sort of incredible that Germany is getting decade old technology for this much investment.
The biggest concern for Germany is chip supply for the industry, especially the automotive sector, machinery, military and so on. 28/22 and 16/12 chips are still going to dominate in that sector for a long time.
Re: TSMC, Bosch, Infineon, NXP to jointly build semiconductor fab in Europe
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
They won't use that technology to produce mobile phones or GPUs. There are plenty of application were structure size, performance and/or power draw doesn't really matter. E.g. Automotive / Industrial applications
That's exactly the issue, isn't it? The Chips Act was marketed as an attempt to bring back "cutting-edge chips" to Europe, and to promote research and innovation. In the end it turns out to just be a huge government subsidy for a bog-standard fab which is at least a decade behind what TSMC is building in Taiwan. Great for automotive companies who want to strengthen their supply lines, but pretty pointless when it com…
That's great news for Germany then.
Re: TSMC, Bosch, Infineon, NXP to jointly build semiconductor fab in Europe
#40Wonder if the Taiwanese govt at some point will step in and block these onshoring measures as a matter of national security. If countries are less reliant on manufacturing within Taiwan, its one less reason to stand up to Beijing's one China principle.
More like the opposite, by making ties with other countries, Taiwan will win some geopolitical points. TSMC alone has no control over if the Chinese government will commit such aggression, if they would do their whole company strategy based on fearing the CCP, there's no way they can be successful.
They are willing to burn a lot of money and time to reach their overall political goal of annexing Taiwan even if it takes a very very long time.
Ultimately it's unrealistic to assume that a country of 1.4 Billion people can not catch up eventually espescially if they would otherwise have to rely on a global competitor (US) or a military target which factories are rigged to blow (Taiwan).
The best thing Taiwan can do (once their semiconductor lead is no more) is to make themselves into a strategic ally located on Chinas doorstep.