TSMC will shut down four EUVs?
Guide: On September 6, JPMorgan’s latest report pointed out that TSMC is facing orders from four advanced process customers including MediaTek, AMD, Qualcomm, and Nvidia, and plans to close four extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines to reduce output and monthly production capacity. There will be a sharp reduction of 15,000 pieces.
The most power-consuming EUV light source part
In this regard, there are two rumors on the market, one is that TSMC needs to shut down to reduce production capacity, and the other is that EUV power consumption is huge and the capacity utilization rate is not high.
The chip master once reported that the daily power consumption is millions of degrees! The EUV lithography machine that "cannot afford to climb high", TSMC currently has the largest EUV lithography machine in the world, with a total of more than 80 units, all of which are located in Taiwan, China.
In fact, the most power-consuming part of EUV is the light source. The previous 193nm wavelength DUV light source also consumes power, but the wavelength of the upgraded EUV light source is only 13.5nm, and a single reflection of the short wavelength brings about 30% loss. The luminous flux on the circle is only 2%, so a super-power laser is needed to make up for it.
TSMC supporting power plants
However, even if the full-load power consumption of a single EUV is calculated at 1MW per day, the power consumption of a single EUV is 1.92 million kWh when it is turned on for one day without taking into account other devices, and it keeps running in 365*24 mode under normal circumstances. Theoretically, the annual power consumption is More than 700 million kWh, the electricity bill is only 440 million yuan.
In 2021, TSMC's annual power consumption will be 17 billion kWh and total revenue will be $56.832 billion. Compared with the EUV purchase price, fab construction and labor costs, the electricity bill can be said to be one of the cheapest parts, and the electricity bill saved by a few EUVs is really not worth mentioning!
Simple truth: would you turn off a money printer to save power?
TSMC Park
According to an insider of an equipment factory, TSMC shut down the four old EUV lithography units in order to upgrade the equipment to the 3600D specification, and the through put of the upgraded single machine can be increased by about 18%.
Professionals said that for high-precision semiconductor machines such as lithography machines, even if the market is not booming and customers cut orders sharply, fabs rarely shut down. Because shutdown is like a power outage, all process parameters must be re-adjusted after restarting, and it is impossible to predict that the best yield can be maintained. The cost of an unplanned shutdown can far outweigh the potential savings.
TSMC said it does not comment on market rumors. There is an annual plan for the machines and equipment, and routine maintenance and upgrades are carried out according to the plan without affecting the normal operation.
