Samsung today announced that it has started mass production of System-on-Chip (SoC) based on 10-nanometer (nm) FinFET technology, as it had promised last year. It also claims that it is the first in the industry to make 10nm SoCs, before Intel.
Samsung said that the new 10nm FinFET process (10LPE) adopts an advanced 3D transistor structure with additional enhancements in both process technology and design enablement compared to its 14nm predecessor, allowing up to 30% increase in area efficiency with 27% higher performance or 40% lower power consumption.
In order to overcome scaling limitations, cutting edge techniques such as triple-patterning to allow bi-directional routing are also used to retain design and routing flexibility from prior nodes.
Samsung will also cultivate a robust 10nm foundry ecosystem that includes reference flow verification, IPs and libraries through close collaboration with customers and partners. Production level process design kits (PDK) and IP design kits are currently available for design starts.
After the first-generation 10nm process (10LPE), its 2nd generation process (10LPP) with performance boost will be mass produced in the second half of 2017, said Samsung.
Samsung said that the SoCs with 10nm process technology will be used in digital devices launching early next year and are expected to become more widely available throughout 2017. This should be the Exynos 8895 processor, successor of Exynos 8 Octa 8890, which is expected to power the flagship Galaxy S8 smartphone that should release in Q1 2017.
Commenting on the new 10nm SoC, Jong Shik Yoon, Executive Vice President, Head of Foundry Business at Samsung Electronics, said:
The industry’s first mass production of 10nm FinFET technology demonstrates our leadership in advanced process technology. We will continue our efforts to innovate scaling technologies and provide differentiated total solutions to our customers.