Specialist
Former director at Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Agenda
- Samsung's (KRX: 005930) 5nm and 7nm node yield issues and 3nm learning curve expectations
- GAA (gate-all-around) technology analysis
- Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) outsourcing implications and capacity utilisation outlook
Questions
1.
The peak of the seven-nanometre node market revenue was at around 1.2x the market revenue of 28- nanometre. What is the price gap for 7nm vs 5nm now?
2.
When Samsung decides the ASP for 7nm and 5nm, what is the typical node-on-node jump?
3.
With 3nm coming along, do you think Samsung would have to do an even more aggressive price cut to justify the customer having to risk using GAA [gate-all-around] the first time with Samsung as well?
4.
Is Samsung still having yield issues with 7nm, and what do you think is the underlying reasons behind this?
5.
How big is the price reason behind Qualcomm choosing to stay with Samsung despite the yield issues?
6.
Regarding the global chip shortage, do you think now could be a good time for Samsung to gain new customers that never outsourced to the company before, or do you think there are only so many customers that can afford advanced nodes, and they already have foundries pegged for a very long time and they’re quite unlikely to choose, even during times of shortage?
7.
How would you describe the gap between TSMC and Samsung for cost per die?
8.
How would you compare Samsung’s vs TSMC’s cost per die?
9.
Samsung announced a CAPEX of around USD 28bn for GAA. How would it typically allocate this? What is the general proportion that will be allocated to the most advanced nodes?
10.
If Samsung does decide to stay on FinFET as it realises the GAA doesn’t work, do you think that would potentially make it even further behind TSMC?
11.
Is it completely separate R&D teams for DRAM, so the EUV adoption for DRAM is unlikely to help with the learning curve for 3nm logic either?
12.
What would be your expectation for the rough split that Intel might go about between TSMC and Samsung? Could it be by model or generation?
13.
You also mentioned that Intel’s 10nm is comparable with TSMC and Samsung’s 7nm. How would you evaluate Intel’s ability to advance beyond 10nm and make something comparable to Samsung and TSMC’s 5nm?
14.
Are there any particular reasons that you would like to highlight in Intel’s challenges associated with commercialisation and mass production?
