U.S. Company Silicon Frontline Technology Employs Proven Methods That Will Enable Samsung to Bring up Its 3nm GAA Yield Rate
A re-run is happening with Samsung’s manufacturing process. First, the company’s 4nm architecture forced Qualcomm to jump ship to TSMC, resulting in lost orders. Now, according to Commercial Times, the 3nm GAA node, which was supposed to bring massive improvements when compared to the 5nm process, is also experiencing the same setbacks. To overcome a multitude of obstacles, Samsung is said to have partnered with U.S.-based Silicon Frontline Technology to improve its 3nm GAA yield rate. As for why Silicon Frontline Technology appears to be the ideal partner, it is said that the company has used ways to improve wafer yields through water qualification and electrostatic discharge prevention technologies. Electrostatic discharge, or ESD, is reported to be a major cause of wafer defects, which would explain the low yield of Samsung’s 3nm GAA architecture. So far, the Korean behemoth is witnessing positive results by incorporating the technologies used by its partner, but the actual benefit will be seen in the coming months when multiple clients either lineup up to experience a taste of this cutting-edge manufacturing process or stick with TSMC. Currently, Samsung is not fulfilling orders for smartphone manufacturers and was earlier reported to ship an initial batch to cryptocurrency miners. Other than that, there are chances that it re-kindles its partnership with Qualcomm, as the latter will likely use a dual-sourcing approach with TSMC for future chipsets. However, if Samsung continues to see low yield rates of its 3nm GAA chips, it is likely that many clients will be discouraged from giving orders to the firm. News Source: Commercial Times
