Samsung's foundry 4-nanometer capacity is nearing full load, expanding 5-nanometer operations

According to a report by North Korea Biz on October 20, Samsung Electronics' foundry division has seen its 4-nanometer process capacity nearing full load due to an increase in customer orders, while the company is also expanding efforts to attract new customers for its 5-nanometer process. The report states that contracts for the most advanced 2-nanometer process with major global tech companies are still delayed, prompting Samsung to increase the utilization rates of its relatively stable 4-nanometer and 5-nanometer processes to improve profitability.

The 4-nanometer process is used for smartphone application processors, artificial intelligence semiconductors, and high-performance computing chips. The report indicates that not all chips in the expanding artificial intelligence semiconductor market require the most advanced processes; the manufacturing costs of 4-nanometer and 5-nanometer processes are relatively low while still achieving high performance, making them suitable for certain artificial intelligence inference chips and application-specific integrated circuits.

Regarding the 2-nanometer process, Samsung is in discussions with major global tech companies about production contracts, but some negotiations are taking longer than originally expected. In addition to yield rates, the most advanced processes also require comprehensive verification of energy efficiency, design assets, and stable mass production capabilities, which means a longer time frame from contract signing to mass production. Samsung views the 2-nanometer process as the core growth driver for its next-generation foundry business and plans to continue using the fully surrounded gate transistor structure first introduced in the 3-nanometer process to improve energy efficiency and performance.