The logo of Taiwan's TSMC, the world's largest semiconductor foundry, is seen. (Reuters)
The logo of Taiwan's TSMC, the world's largest semiconductor foundry, is seen. (Reuters)

TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, is expected to begin production of its most advanced 1.4-nanometer (nm) process technology as early as next year.

According to Taiwanese media outlets including China Times and Economic Daily News, Taiwan's National Science and Technology Council's Central Taiwan Science Park Administration disclosed construction progress Wednesday on Fab 25, a semiconductor plant TSMC is building on a second-phase expansion site of its Taichung complex, for which ground-breaking took place last October.

According to the administration, Fab 25's first plant, P1, has already completed its steel structure work. Once construction finishes in April 2027, trial production will begin immediately.

Construction on the second plant, P2, is also proceeding faster than originally planned, with production expected to start before the end of next year.

The overall construction schedule for Fab 25 has been moved up by about six months from the original plan. Once all four plants, P1 through P4, are completed in 2028, annual sales are projected to exceed 500 billion Taiwan dollars (about $16 billion).

Fab 25's completion is expected to create about 4,500 new jobs.

Wang Junjie, deputy director of the administration, said P1 has already finished its steel structure work and is now undergoing slab construction, while P2, which is currently in the foundation stage, is expected to be completed around October 2027.

Nanometers measure the width of semiconductor circuit lines — the narrower the line, the lower the power consumption and the faster the processing speed.

A source said that as TSMC moves into 1.4nm production, major semiconductor materials, parts and equipment companies — including ASML, Tokyo Electron and KLA — are expanding into the Taichung area.


mokiya@heraldcorp.com