TSMC skips high-NA for A14

TSMC won’t be using high-NA EUV lithography to pattern A14 chips, manufacturing of which is scheduled to start in 2028. “From 2 nanometers to A14, we don’t have to use high-NA, but we can continue to maintain similar complexity in terms of processing steps. With each generation of technology, we try to minimize the number of mask increases. This is very important to provide a cost-efficient solution,” Kevin Zhang said at the TSMC North America Technology Symposium last week.

Zhang’s statement aligns with previous rumors, which suggested that TSMC will start using high-NA for the production of the A14P node, which adds backside power delivery functionality to A14. Production of A14P is slated to start in 2029.