A higher demand for mobility in the retail segment has resulted in higher appeal to sub-40nm processes. TSMC is nearly fully booked, and its clients have just started to raise demand even further.
Our mobile units are getting bigger roles in our everyday life. New technologies like LTE/4G and powerful system processors have made energy consumption go up, but also ultrathin and all-in-one PCs have become more popular. In combination with TSMC skipping 32 nanometer, the demand for new manufacturing technologies have never been higher.
AMD, Broadcom, MediaTek, MStar Semiconductor, NVIDIA and Qualcomm are TSMC’s most important clients according to DigiTimes and they have all increased their orders for 28 nanometer products, in preparation for new product launches. Also smaller clients like Texas Instruments, Freescale Semiconductor, STMicroelectronics and Infineon Technologies have done the same.
Besides higher pressure on TSMC that accelerated the development and building of new fabs, it is a good sign for the eletronics industry. The market is recovering, and is once again looking up as more companies dare to build up some stock again.
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