We are getting closer to the limits of physics. Towards the end of last year, we talked about how we were heading towards the “Angstrom age” in chip production. Although not much time has passed, news about 1 nanometer technology has already started to come to the fore. What does 1 nm mean? The semiconductor industry’s relentless pursuit of miniaturization is approaching an important turning point: the 1 nanometer (nm) production process.
Companies that complete this process will not only achieve technical success, but will also attempt to lead the information technology age we live in. For semiconductor manufacturers and Electronic Design Automation (EDA) managers, the 1 nm limit is a testing ground for innovation and collaboration. For institutional investors, this process will determine the company that will mark the next decade and dominate the technology world.
On the other hand, the fundamental laws of physics will come into play when developing 1 nm transistors, which are approximately equivalent to the size of a few atoms. During development and production, quantum effects become evident, electron tunneling increases, and managing heat dissipation becomes much more complex. Of course, when companies deliver the final product, these tiny transistors must be efficient and reliable.
Semiconductor giants may begin to move beyond traditional approaches to overcome all obstacles, while new materials and architectures may need to be explored. The transition to the 1 nm manufacturing process is not just a continuation of Moore’s Law; 1 nanometer represents a critical turning point where physical limitations, economic considerations and geopolitical factors intersect. Moreover, countries view semiconductor superiority as an integral part of technological dominance.
For example, the United States and China are intensifying efforts to strengthen domestic semiconductor capabilities, reflecting the strategic importance of cutting-edge chip manufacturing. Different transistor architecturesTo overcome these challenges, researchers are evaluating a variety of advanced transistor architectures. FinFETs (Fin Field Effect Transistors) served as a stepping stone, providing better control over short channel effects.
However, as we move towards 1 nm, limitations begin to show themselves. At this point, Gate-all-around FET (GAAFET) comes into play, which surrounds the channel with a gate from all directions and thus provides superior control over the channel. GAAFET structure minimizes leakage current and offers greater scalability. As a matter of fact, we can say that GAAFET is the most promising candidate for future production technologies.
Another innovative approach is the use of complementary FETs (CFET), which place n-type and p-type transistors vertically on top of each other. Thanks to the CFET technique, the area covered decreases and the performance increases. The role of new materials Silicon has been the backbone of the semiconductor industry for decades. However, its limitations at the nanometer scale are forcing engineers to switch to alternative materials.
Materials such as graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD) have become potential candidates for future transistor channels, offering excellent electrical properties and atomic thickness. Carbon nanotube is another promising material due to their extraordinary electrical conductivity and mechanical strength; offers the potential for faster and more energy efficient transistors. On the other hand, there are still some challenges regarding homogeneity and large-scale production.
Lithography fieldLithography is another critical field where breakthrough developments are vital. Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography is what enables smaller details in chips and gives microchips detailed patterns. However, to reach 1 nm, further progress will be required in lithography techniques, including the research of new light sources and patterning strategies. Intel 10A (1 nm) Taking serious steps in the semiconductor industry, Intel announced its important plans for the future by announcing the latest technology “1nm production process (10A)”.
The company will begin developing Intel 10A (1 nanometer equivalent) technology in late 2027. As you can imagine, 10A chips will not be produced in high volume in 2027 and will not be used in devices immediately. The development process will begin, perhaps we may hear news of important steps in 2028. 14A (1.4 nm) chips will be produced in 2026. The ‘A’ suffix in Intel’s manufacturing naming convention represents Angstrom.
10 Angstroms correspond to 1nm; This means the company’s first 1nm class technology. The blue team did not share much details about 10A, but it was stated that it would provide at least a double-digit power/performance increase. CEO Pat Gelsinger said the threshold for a new manufacturing technology is approximately a -15% increase. Therefore, we can expect 10A to provide at least this level of improvement compared to 14A production.
Going back, there was an improvement of 100% between Intel 7 and Intel 4. The Blues will also rapidly increase advanced packaging production capacity for Foveros, EMIB, SIP (silicon photonics) and HBI (hybrid bond interconnect). Advanced packaging capacity has been one of the key bottlenecks in the current shortage of AI accelerators. This capacity increase will ensure a stable supply of advanced processors with complex packaging, including HBM.
Intel’s AI “Cobots” It seems that there will be no place left where artificial intelligence does not enter. Intel intends to establish fully artificial intelligence-supported automatic factories with “collaborative robots” it calls “Cobot”. Keyvan Esfarjani, Executive Vice President of Foundry Production and Supply, did not provide a timeline for the company’s groundbreaking initiative, but noted that it will impact every aspect of its operations in the future.
Artificial intelligence-supported collaborative robots will be able to act together with humans in the production process. TSMC N1 (1 nm) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) plans to start 1 nm production around 2030 at its “Fab 25” facility in the south of Taiwan. This facility will operate six production lines for 12-inch wafers and will be one of the cornerstones for TSMC to maintain its leadership. As for 2nm chips, the first wave is expected to be released in 2026.
Many companies around the world, whether you know them or not, will prefer TSMC’s N2 and N2P production technologies. For now, it looks like Intel will take the lead for 1 nm. On the other hand, the Taiwanese semiconductor giant is reported to be planning to go beyond the sub-2 nm limit as it begins ground preparations for 1 nm production. Volume 2 nanometer production is just starting, there is still a long time for 1 nanometer.
Because the land acquisition process within the scope of TSMC’s Longtan Phase III expansion project is expected to start in 2029, which indicates that mass production may not occur before 2030-2031. Samsung “Dream Semiconductor” (1nm) Progressing with the second and third generation 2 nm GAA processes, Samsung is working very hard to launch the most advanced lithography technology (1 nm), called “dream semiconductor”.
Similar to TSMC, it will take years for the Korean giant to showcase its advanced techniques. The company’s R&D program is aimed to be completed by 2030 and the production process to start in 2031. As we mentioned, shrinking transistors from 2 nm to 1 nm will be a great achievement. In this context, it is said that Samsung will rely on the “fork sheet” method, which allows more transistors to fit into the same area. The foundry was developing the 2-nanometer chips with GAA (Gate-All-Around) technology, which maximizes power efficiency by expanding the current path from three lanes to four.
When it comes to 1 nanometer, applying the same technique will not be as effective. According to Korea Economic Daily, Samsung aims to achieve mass production of sub-2nm technology by adding a non-conductive wall between GAA devices. The process in question is similar to sticking a fork into the existing gap, which is why the nomenclature is called “fork plate”. Samsung may want to bring its plans forward in order to gain an advantage in the competition with TSMC.
The Korean giant is focused on starting 1 nm chip production in 2029. The biggest obstacle that disturbs the company is not its progress in new generation production processes, but stabilizing the efficiency. What is semiconductor technology, what does “nm” mean? In English resources, you can see terms such as “process node”, “process technology”, “technology node” and just “node”. They all lead to the same thing. The word “node” means “node”.
We can use this as a “circuit node”. As you know, the transistors on the chips are extremely close to each other, on the nanometer scale. We can define this structure as a “node” because they come one after the other. However, we generally prefer to use clearer terms such as process technology, production technology and fabrication technology. Process node refers to a specific semiconductor manufacturing process and the design rules of this process.
Nodes in chip production show features that the production line can create on an integrated circuit, such as interconnect spacing, transistor density, transistor type and other new technologies. Production techniques called 5nm and 7nm are related to the “chip production” processes that take place in production facilities, which we also refer to as foundries. Although nearly all chips are produced using silicon, there are different manufacturing processes that foundries can use.
That’s why we use the word “process”. In summary, when producing silicon chips, the size of the transistor components is measured, and with these dimensions, “special” production methods emerge. 65nm, 32nm, 10nm, 5nm… As the years change, foundry technologies also change. All chips, including Intel and AMD processors, SoCs and NVIDIA GPUs in Apple and Samsung smartphones, are produced with these processes. TSMC, Intel and Samsung are the largest foundries producing chips.
Companies such as AMD and NVIDIA are actually called “chip manufacturers”, but they do not have their own foundries or production facilities. They design the chips and outsource production to giants like TSMC. Process technologies are often named with a number followed by the nanometer abbreviation: 22nm, 14nm, and 7nm. In recent years, this tradition has begun to change. There is no fixed, objective relationship between any feature of the CPU and the name of the technology.
This wasn’t always the case. From about the 1960s until the late 1990s, technologies were named according to their gate lengths. This table from IEEE shows the relationship:
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