Samsung Adds 11nm FinFET Process, Details 7nm Production Timeframe

Samsung said on Monday that it is further strengthening its foundry business by adding a new 11-nanometer FinFET process technology, and planing to develop the industry's first 7-nanometre process tech, as it aggressively works to rival Taiwan's TSMC's offerings for the tentpole position in the smartphone space.

The South Korean electronics giant said it was able to achieve 11-nanometre process, or 11LPP, by further scaling its earlier generation 14-nanonmetre process. Compared to the 14nm FinFET process, the 11nm process delivers 15 percent more performance efficiency while cutting short the form factor by 10 percent. The power consumption would remain the same.

To put things in perspective, Samsung's new flagship smartphones - the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy Note 8 - are powered by 10nm FinFET process. Samsung said it expects to bring 11nm process to its mid-range and high-end smartphones. The current slated time period for the production of 11nm process technology is first half of next year.

In the second half of next year, Samsung will begin initial production of 7LPP with EUV (extreme ultra violet) lithography technology. Samsung has produced close to 200,000 wafers with EUV lithography technology so far since 2014, it said, adding that it has achieved 80 percent yield for 256Mb SRAM (static random-access memory).

"Samsung has added the 11nm process to our roadmap to offer advanced options for various applications,” said Ryan Lee, Vice President and Head of Foundry Marketing at Samsung Electronics. “Through this, Samsung has completed a comprehensive process roadmap spanning from 14nm to 11nm, 10nm, 8nm, and 7nm in the next three years.”

The company says it will elaborate on its plans for 11nm and 7nm processes at Foundry Forum in Japan on September 15, 2017.