Mackenzie Hawkins of Bloomberg reports that TSMC Arizona’s planned production yields were higher than the Tawain facilities. Hawkins writes:
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has achieved early production yields at its first plant in Arizona that surpass similar factories back home, a significant breakthrough for a US expansion project initially dogged by delays and worker strife.
The share of chips manufactured at TSMC’s facility in Phoenix that are usable is about 4 percentage points higher than comparable facilities in Taiwan, Rick Cassidy, president of TSMC’s US division, told listeners on a webinar Wednesday, according to a person who participated. The success rate, or yield, is a critical measure in the semiconductor industry because it determines whether companies will be able to cover the enormous costs of a chip plant.
The accomplishment is a sign of progress for Washington’s efforts to revitalize American semiconductor manufacturing. TSMC, the main chip manufacturing partner for Nvidia Corp. and Apple Inc., is in line to win $6.6 billion in government grants and $5 billion in loans — plus 25% tax credits — to build three fabrication facilities, or fabs, in Arizona. The award, like almost all others from the 2022 Chips and Science Act, isn’t yet finalized. […]
“We now expect volume production of our first fab to start in the beginning of 2025, and are confident to deliver the same level of manufacturing quality and reliability from our fab in Arizona as from our fabs in Taiwan,” he said.
Read more here.
