Samsung’s 2nd-Gen 3nm Process Only Achieves 20% Yield, Far from Expectations

Bad news for Samsung and its customers. Its second-generation 3nm GAA manufacturing process is underperforming and does not yet appear to be a viable option for large-scale chip manufacturing.

Underperformance Continues to Affect Samsung’s 3nm Process

If it was already being said that Samsung had lost important clients such as Qualcomm, which would have delegated the manufacturing of its Snapdragon 8 Elite to TSMC due to the low performance of the first generation of Samsung’s 3nm (with a yield of 50-60%, also referred to as SF3E-3GAE), now with this second generation it seems that the Korean company is not able to improve the figures and is currently at a yield of 20%.

Samsung

This means that only one-fifth of each chip wafer is viable. These figures are certainly far from the 70% target that the company hoped to achieve and could cause its remaining customers to opt for other solutions. According to rumors, even South Korean firms that previously placed orders with Samsung have shifted to TSMC’s camp, citing concerns over the poor progress of Samsung’s 3nm technology.

2nm Already?

One possibility that has been floating around the web is that Samsung is already focusing on its 2nm process in the face of efforts that seem to be failing with 3nm. The company expects to launch the first 2nm chips in 2025.