According to the company, it is concentrating its workforce and investments on the 2nm process, which is set for mass production at the end of this year.
Samsung Electronics has temporarily postponed its plan to construct a 1.4nm foundry trial line in part of its Pyeongtaek Plant 2 from the second quarter and the facility investment for 1.4nm has been pushed back to the end of this year or the first half of next year at the earliest.
The company had previously announced a roadmap to start 1.4nm process services from next year. However, with the delay in trial line construction, the possibility of initial mass production next year has become uncertain, and it is now likely that commercial production will now begin in 2028.
This delay with the 1.4nm investment stems from the downturn in the foundry industry. Samsung has been experiencing difficulties due to weak customer orders and declining sales.
The construction of the 1.4nm trial line was almost the only cutting-edge process investment planned for this year, and its postponement suggests that order performance for advanced processes has not been satisfactory.
Samsung Electronics has now decided to concentrate its capabilities on the immediate process advancement rather than aggressive investment in leading-edge technology and is expected to focus all its efforts on improving the yield and increasing production capacity of the 2nm process, which will begin mass production at the end of the year.
Samsung’s foundry will produce the application processor (AP) “Exynos 2600,” scheduled for release at the end of this year by the System LSI division, using the 2nm process. However, with the foundry division’s 2nm yield remaining at 20-30%, technological advancement is required to increase productivity.
Samsung’s foundry is also reviewing plans to convert part of the 3nm line at the Hwaseong Campus (S3) to a 2nm line by the end of the year, depending on order volumes.
This adjustment to the company’s business strategy comes as key rivals TSMC and Intel are both aiming for 2nm and 18A mass production in the second half of 2025.
