Earlier quoted context omitted.
The number 7nm 5nm etc. ceased to refer anything physical after the technology moved on from planar transistors. Now it's just a commercial name for a generation. The most important dimensions are the gate pitch and metal pitch. For TSMC's 7nm process they are something like 60 and 40 nm and go down in the future to something like 30 nm and 20 nm in the 2nm process. Fin width might be the closest thing to commercial…
Very interesting, thank you. So we're basically not nearly as close to "true" 7nm as I thought? Do companies like TSMC already have a plan as to how to deal with "true" 7nm or is a lot more research still needed?
If you will forgive the expression. Yes and No.
Yes in that TSMC has ideas / plans scaling all the way to 0.8nm, targeting 2030. That is only a few steps above what you described as true 7nm.
No in that no one knows if it will work. We know Quantum Tunnelling will hit some day, some where, some how, at some percentage.
Remember you are talking about leading edge Semi-Conductor manufacturing. Nothing like this has ever been done before.
It is a bit like telling me 5G today was possible when I was researching on first gen 3G two decades ago. If you describe to me with theory I will have properly said yes..... but it is hard to imagine how it will actually be implemented.