Samsung Foundry is the second largest foundry in the world, after the giant TSMC. In addition to making Exynos chips that it designs itself, Samsung makes chips based on third-party designs, such as Qualcomm. In February, reports circulated that Samsung’s performance on its 4nm process node was only 35%. This means that only 35% of chips cut from a wafer pass quality control, compared to 70% achieved by TSMC in its production of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. According to Businesspost.kr, Samsung could be facing problems in its new 3nm manufacturing process that could affect its ability to mass-produce chips. Samsung’s 3nm chip production yield would have dropped to a range of 10-20%. This poor performance could affect chip production in the future. It is believed that Samsung’s first series of 3nm chips will be used for its own Exynos chips, likely the successor to the Exynos 2200. In addition to moving from 4nm to 3nm, Samsung is also the first to use GAAFET (Gate all around FET ), rather than the FINFET (Fin FET) design. GAAFET is a new transistor design needed to go below the 3nm threshold, as FINFET has physical limitations that make it unsuitable. The move to GAAFET may well have contributed to Samsung’s problems, as the new design requires a different approach. Intel tried to use GAAFET with its 7nm processors before postponing the switch due to similar issues Samsung is reportedly facing. Interestingly, TSMC has decided not to adopt GAAFET for its 3nm semiconductors, hoping to move to 2nm to implement the new transistor design. TSMC and Samsung will soon have a new challenger, as Intel has said it aims to take over the process leadership in the industry by the end of 2024.
