UMC Announces 14nm Process For Q1 2017

When we think of the semiconductor industry, the first names that come to mind are Intel, Samsung, TSMC and Global Foundries. These companies are often on the bleeding edge of the latest process and are used by some of the biggest names in chip design. However, we can’t forget about the myriad array of other chips in our daily lives. This is where UMC comes in and they have just announced their new 14nm process.

According to the company’s CEO, UMC will be bringing their new 14nm process to market within the quarter. This is a minor acceleration from previous estimates which placed 14nm as coming out in Q2 2017. However, the company was able to reach its speed and leakage goals early and meet the industry 14nm standards. Production is initially set at 2,000 wafers per month and customers are already sampling test chips.

As UMC is not as big a name, there are fewer details to share about their 14nm process. Though they carry the same 14nm moniker, the process nodes are often quite different between the different fabs. Nonetheless, it’s good to see more options available for 14nm. This should help drive down costs and increase efficiency for less glamorous devices like LAN, Audio and other peripheral controllers. After all, those controllers cost money and burn up electricity as well.