For now, Moore’s Law, the observation of semiconductor legend Gordon Moore, remains in effect. Moore, the co-founder of Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel, originally noted in 1965 that the number of transistors in an integrated circuit (IC) would double each year. He later revised that in the 1970s by stating that the number of transistors would double every two years.
Samsung is first to start shipping 3nm GAA chipsets replacing previous generation 5nm FinFET chips
With GAA there is more control over the power resulting in greater energy efficiency. TSMC is still using the previous generation FinFET transistor design for its 3nm SoCs, which will ship in the second half of this year. The world’s leading independent foundry will begin using GAA with its 2nm process node, which it hopes to start delivering to customers by 2026.
Ultimately, the 3nm GAA process node will be used to produce smartphone chips, including Samsung’s own Exynos 2300 and possibly Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoCs. The 3nm GAA process node reduces power consumption by up to 45% and increases performance by as much as 23% compared to the 5nm node. A second-generation variant of the 3nm GAA chips is expected to reduce power consumption by up to 50% and increase performance by up to 30%.
What this means for you is the availability of more powerful handsets with longer battery life.
In a release, Samsung said: “On the 25th, Samsung Electronics held a 3nm foundry product shipment ceremony using the next-generation transistor GAA (Gate All Around) technology on the V1 line (EUV only) at Hwaseong Campus, Gyeonggi-do event. attended by about 100 people, including Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy Changyang Lee, suppliers, fables, Samsung Electronics DS division head, Kyeong-hyeon Kye (chairman), and executives and employees, and encouraged executives and employees to participate in 3nm GAA R&D and mass production.”
