U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo provided an update on the implementation of the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act.
To date, more than 600 letters of intent have been received from companies large and small for funding under the CHIPS and Science Act, and funds are currently being allocated to revitalize the U.S. semiconductor industry. U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo acknowledged that some companies are more likely to receive funding than others because one of the goals of the CHIPS and Science Act is to keep 20% of cutting-edge chip production domestically by 2030.
"We believe our investment in cutting-edge logic chip manufacturing will put the country on track to produce about 20% of the world's cutting-edge logic chips by 2030," Raimondo said at a press conference dedicated to the chips bill. "It's a big deal. Why is this a big deal? Because guys, today, we have zero capacity. So, a year ago, I didn't know exactly what we could do until we saw the applications. Today, I confidently stand before you and say that by 2030, we will increase the proportion of cutting-edge chips made in the United States from zero to 20%. ”
TSMC mass-produces chips in Taiwan using N3B and N3E 3nm-level process technologies, which can be considered the most advanced production nodes in the world. At the same time, Intel is about to begin mass production of chips using its Intel 20A manufacturing process, a 2nm-scale manufacturing process that can offer better characteristics than TSMC N3B. Intel is expected to start manufacturing chips with its Intel 18A process technology in 2025, and the company says the node will perform significantly better than TSMC's competitors.
This will certainly increase the share of chips manufactured in the United States using leading process technologies. Still, with TSMC having more customers than Intel foundry, Taiwan will remain a major producer of some of the world's most advanced chips for quite some time to come. At the same time, as the Intel foundry wins customers, it will inevitably become a sizable player in the cutting-edge logic market, especially considering that it will have at least three major manufacturing bases in the United States (Oregon, Arizona, and Ohio).
Interestingly, Raimondo seems to be quite optimistic about establishing an advanced semiconductor production base in the United States.
Last year, I said that when we finished talking about this chips program and were done, our goal was to have at least two new large-scale cutting-edge logic factory clusters," the Secretary of Commerce said. "Each cluster employs thousands of workers. I am pleased to report that today we expect to exceed that goal. ”
But while it's important to produce advanced chips in the U.S., perhaps more importantly, U.S. companies will develop processors in the country.
"By the end of this decade, in 2030, the United States of America will be the only country in the world where we can invent new chip architectures in our new research labs, including those funded by NSTC," Raimondo said. The chips will be designed in the U.S. for every end-use application you can think of, and mass-manufactured in the U.S. by high-paying U.S. workers and packaged with the most advanced technology in the world. ”
In addition to investing in the field of chip manufacturing, the United States** plans to invest in various engineering schools across the country to ensure that there are enough experts to work in these new fabs and build new fabs.
"Engineering schools across the country will produce more engineers and technicians specifically for the chip industry," the Commerce Secretary said. "We're going to make construction hardware competitive again. ”
Scientific rambling