Samsung Electronics Announces First Mass Production of 3-Nano GAA Transistors

On the 25th, Samsung Electronics held a 3-nano foundry product shipment ceremony. This foundry applied next-generation GAA (Gate All Around) technology at EUV exclusive V1 line at Hwaseong Campus in Gyeonggi Province.

Samsung Electronics is applying 3-nano GAA process to high-performance computing (HPC) for the time being and is cooperating with major customers to expand and apply it to various product lines such as mobile SoC products.
Samsung Electronics has started mass production of 3nm GAA foundry process products at Hwaseong Campus and will expand to Pyeongtaek Campus in the future.

Samsung Electronics started the GAA transistor structures research in the early 2000s, and since 2017, it has applied to the three-nano process, which has been applied to the world's first GAA technology last month.

"This year marks a historic day when we mass-produce 3-nano GAA products and mark a milestone in foundry business," President Kyeong Gye-hyun said. "Successful early development of GAA technology, which will be a new alternative when the FinFET transistor reaches its technical limit, is an innovative result of creating something from nothing."

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Chang-yang said, "Samsung Electronics, the system semiconductor industry, and the Material/Parts/Equipment industry should join forces to lead the fierce micro-process competition. The government will also make full efforts to support private investment, train manpower, develop technology, and build the Material/Parts/Equipment ecosystem."

This kind of achievement is usually a result of private-public partnership and cooperation between the industry, academia, and the government.

The competitors have been negative about the 3-nano process, and everyone is curious about how it will develop.

It is the world's first 3 nano foundry to be mass -produced, becoming the world's only GAA foundry. This is an achievement that has surpassed TSMC, but winning orders through stable yields remain a challenge.