News Analysts Estimate TSMC's 3nm Yields Between 60% and 80%

bit_user

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TSMC did not comment on the news story (and they never will comment on yields)
Perhaps they don't comment on rumors, but they have made public statements about yields. They've also included yield curve graphics in their slides, even comparing the yield of newer process nodes with older ones over the same ramp-up period.

there could be thousands of ways to improve or lower yields
You can still imagine a situation where all the parameters are optimally tuned and they still can't reach adequate yields. I'm not saying it'll happen to these nodes, but it seems like Intel has been struggling with some yield problems they couldn't simply optimize away, in recent years.
 

TJ Hooker

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Wouldn't any % yield values be highly dependent on die size? If so, it doesn't seem like it makes sense to list a % yield for a process in general, when in reality it's only applicable to a specific product using that process.

To make yield values be product agnostic, I think it'd have to be stated in terms of defects per wafer or per unit area, or something like that.
 

Sippincider

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Idk why they don't sell the failed ones. (assuming they can't recycle them)

Many people would gladly purchase them for art to hang on a wall or put on a shelf.

DO this!! Wall art that originally cost six or seven figures to make would indeed be a conversation piece. :)

But I can think of several reasons why bad chips should never leave the plant, so we probably won't be seeing art from them.
 

Bazzy 505

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Idk why they don't sell the failed ones. (assuming they can't recycle them)

Many people would gladly purchase them for art to hang on a wall or put on a shelf.

it does get recycled. However Intel used to give away some failed ones as teaching aids to schools, to museums, as well as memorabilia to its important clients at milestones and anniversaries (mind you decades ago). But to my knowledge, they never technically sold them.

there's also intel museum at its HQ in Santa Clara, CA. it's free admission and you can really see all of it from crystal to whole systems there, well worth the visit if you're in the area

20181002_133209.jpg
 
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jkflipflop98

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I have a whole stack of 6, 8, and 12 inch wafers sitting on my desk with all kinds of devices on them. Everything from the OG pentium processor up to i9's and MEMs. Sometimes when people ask me about work I pull them out as a visual aide. I see wafers everyday so I forget sometimes how mesmerizing they are to look at. I can see people get lost in them frequently.

You could totally sell them as clocks and keychains.
 
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bit_user

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You could totally sell them as clocks and keychains.
I definitely have seen key chains with a die embedded in clear plastic. Here are 2 examples, but I've seen others:


I once bought an old i486 CPU for a couple bucks, at a flea market. No idea if it worked, but it later fell on the floor and cracked the ceramic package and the metal plate on the bottom fell off. So, I now have it propped up to display the chip and it's pretty interesting to look at. No matter that the tech is so old.
 
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