The United States wants to reduce its dependence on foreign-made semiconductors, but it won't be that simple.
Introduced and passed in 2022, the Chips Act is a set of laws designed to develop semiconductor factories in the USA. Through funding and tax breaks granted to numerous semiconductor manufacturers, it has enabled the construction of multiple factories, including TSMC's imposing fab in Phoenix, Arizona. A massive plant that rose from the ground very quickly and was able to produce state-of-the-art chips as early as this year, even though many observers did not give it much of a chance, due to the radically different working habits between Taiwan and the United States.
For the latter, the arrival of TSMC - Taiwan's ultra-modern etching giant - has been a complete success. However, the balance sheet is perhaps not as rosy as supporters of the Chips Act would have wished. Indeed, as the Taipei Times points out, the Phoenix TMSC plant is lagging behind its Taiwanese counterparts in terms of technology and, even more embarrassingly, is unlikely ever to catch up. For the time being, it produces 4nm chips, the A16 SoC that Apple intends to use in the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 15. Meanwhile, Taiwan's factories are running at full speed on 3nm, and 2nm is already on the drawing board, with production starting early next year.
How is it that a plant as new as Phoenix is not able to produce cutting-edge components like Taiwan? The reason is actually as simple as it seems insoluble for the United States. The Taipei Times points out that a local law prevents Taiwanese companies from exporting a technical process until it has been superseded by a new generation actually in use in the country. In other words, for TSMC's U.S. plant to produce 3 nm, Taiwanese factories must actually be on 2 nm. As for seeing 2 nm used in Arizona, this will require TSMC to operate its successor on its native island... not before, at best, 2027!
