Samsung Electronics, which has been in a nip-and-tuck race with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) to win foundry orders with the world’s most advanced fabrication technology, may have grabbed all of Qualcomm’s business with a second-generation version of its 14nm FinFET process.
Samsung has launched commercial production of advanced logic using its 14nm Low-Power Plus (LPP) process, the latest generation of the 14nm process technology, the company said in a press statement.
Qualcomm, which accounted for about 20 percent of TSMC’s orders two years ago, has moved most of its business to Samsung at 10/14nm for 2017 and beyond, according to Warren Lau, an analyst with Maybank Kim Eng in Hong Kong.
“Samsung is the sole supplier for all Qualcomm future 14nm chipsets and modems,” Lau said in emailed comments to EE Times. “This is also the case at 10nm.”
Samsung said Qualcomm is making its Snapdragon 820 processor on Samsung’s new 14nm LPP process, and the first products will be in mobile devices in the first half of this year.
Samsung said it was the industry leader with the first FinFET process, announced during the first quarter of 2015, when it launched the Exynos 7 Octa processor built on the company’s 14nm Low-Power Early (LPE) process. Samsung said it will use the new 14nm LPP process to make its Exynos 8 Octa processor