Computer chips and software may have been esoteric concepts for car engineers a couple generations ago, but they are now inseparable from modern cars. Electronic components drive 80% of today's automotive innovation and there could be well over a thousand semiconductor products in a single vehicle controlling everything from the engine management system, backup cameras, tire pressure monitors to the infotainment system.
Vehicles continue to evolve at a tremendous pace. Features such as autonomous driving, active safety, immersive infotainment systems and wireless connectivity drive the need for the highest performing and most energy efficient processors.
TSMC is pleased to introduce N5A, the world’s most advanced semiconductor technology, enhanced for automotive. TSMC’s consumer N5 semiconductor technology is the foundation for today’s most powerful supercomputers and advanced consumer devices. N5A further enhances N5 for the rigors of the modern vehicle, and is on track to be qualified by third quarter of 2022.
Compared to TSMC’s N7 technology, N5A delivers a ~20% improvement in performance or a ~40% improvement in power efficiency and a ~80% improvement in logic density.
Automotive standards for quality and reliability are far more rigorous versus those for consumer class products. TSMC’s commitment to automotive means that we have adopted the zero defect mindset. Backed by proven high-volume manufacturing, TSMC has benefited from the lessons of manufacturing over 1 billion N7 chips and apply them to our automotive technologies, resulting in world-class D0 and DPPM (Defective Parts Per Million) – improving both intrinsic and extrinsic quality. TSMC’s technology leadership and scale allows us to offer the world’s most advanced semiconductor technology for vehicles only months after it became available for the consumers.
TSMC’s 16FFC and N7 technologies with the Automotive Design Enablement Platform passes the automotive standards for quality, reliability and functional safety, passing AEC-Q100, ISO 26262 and IAT 16949 standards. N5A is undergoing qualification for automotive industry’s toughest standards.
TSMC also extends the TSMC IP9000A assessment requirements for technologies to ensure our design partners are using automotive tested foundation IP and building blocks.
Long-term technology availability is imperative to automotive industry. Throughout its history, TSMC has never shut down any Fab or phased out a single technology. As a global company and an integral part of the complex semiconductor supply chain, TSMC established and is committed to maintaining a proactive and robust risk and crisis management program to protect the continuing business interest of the company and our major stake holders, including our customers.
All diagrams, animations and videos are for demonstrative and illustrative purposes only
