A wafer costs $30,000 and it is reported that the cost of manufacturing 2nm chips has increased by 50%.

CTOnews.com, December 23 (Xinhua)-- maintaining Moore's Law is becoming more and more difficult and expensive for semiconductor device manufacturers. International Business Strategies analysts recently released a report saying that after the manufacturer transitioned to the 2nm process, the cost increased by 50% compared with the 3nm process, resulting in a cost of US $30,000 per 2nm wafer (CTOnews.com Note: currently about 214000 yuan).

IBS estimates that a 2nm fab (WSPM) with a capacity of 50, 000 wafers a month costs about $28 billion, while building a 3nm fab with the same capacity is estimated at $20 billion.

The increased cost of fabs is mainly due to the increase in the number of EUV lithography tools, which has significantly increased the cost per wafer and per chip, which will naturally be passed on to consumers.

According to the roadmap currently released by TSMC, the N2 process is planned to be introduced between 2025 and 2026, while Apple will have to pay about $30, 000 for an 300mm 2nm wafer, while the N3 process wafer is estimated to cost $20, 000.

Arete Research estimates that the chip size of Apple's latest smartphone, the A17 Pro, is between 100mm ^ 2 and 110mm ^ 2, which is the same as the company's previous generation of A15 (107.7mm ^ 2) and A16 (about 5% compared to A15, therefore, about 113mm ^ 2) SoC.

If the size of the Apple A17 Pro chip is calculated according to 105mm ^ 2, then a 300mm wafer can cut 586 pieces. If calculated at 100% yield in theory, the cost per chip is about $34, and if calculated at 85% yield, the cost is about $40.

IBS estimates the cost of Apple's 3nm chip at $50, while the cost of 2nm's "Apple chip" will rise to $85.

Roughly calculated, at US $30,000 per wafer and 85% yield, the cost of a single 105mm ^ 2 chip is US $60.