TSMC made-in-America chips almost ready for mass production

TSMC’s Arizona chip production is apparently in the final stages of entering mass production capacity. A new report from Nikkei Asia confirms that Apple is in the final stage of “verifying” made-in-America TSMC chips, with mass production expected to begin later this quarter. People with knowledge of the matter have confirmed that Apple is currently testing the unnamed A-series chips produced at TSMC’s Arizona fab.

TSMC semiconductor manufacturing fab site in Phoenix, Arizona

As per recent reports, TSMC's Arizona plant will manufacture older Apple chipsets like the A16 Bionic used in the iPhone 15 and ‌iPhone 15‌ Plus and the Apple S9 chip found inside the Apple Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 smartwatches.

TSMC has been the recipient of several U.S. government grants under the CHIPS and Science Act, with the latest one valued at $6.6 billion being finalized back in November. The goal of the CHIPS and Science Act is to help bolster U.S. chip manufacturing while generating local jobs.

TSMC’s roadmap suggests the chip manufacturing giant will manufacture 4nm chips in Arizona this year, followed by 3nm chips in 2028 using the N2 and A16 nanosheet process technologies. The chipset maker is also committed to opening a third semiconductor factory in Arizona by 2030, which will be tasked with producing 2nm chips.

Source (paywall)