Processors for the iPhone and Apple Watch are now being built in the U.S.
TSMC's first operational fab in Arizona, Fab 21, has started production of chips for customers including AMD's Ryzen 9000-series desktop processors. Also being manufactured in the facility are some parts of Apple's S9 system-in-package (SiP) processor for the Apple Watch Series 9. The difference between a SiP and a SoC is that the latter includes all of the components (CPU, GPU, memory, etc.) in a single die. The SiP combines individual dies into a single package.
If this information is legit, Fab 21 in Arizona is manufacturing at least one Integrated Circuit for Apple's S9 SiP, one of AMD's Ryzen 9000-series CPUs, and the A16 Bionic SoC for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus. All three chips are built using TSMC's 4nm node which is actually an enhanced and refined version of the foundry's 5nm process node. Production capacity for what is being called Phase 1A (P1A) is running at 10,000 wafer starts per month.
Once the second phase (P1B) is completed, the total capacity of Phase 1 will hit 24,000 wafers per month. A report from former Bloomberg tech writer Tim Culpan says that tooling delays might cause a bottleneck in production. For the sake of the U.S. semiconductor industry, let's hope that this doesn't happen.
Culpan says that Fab 21 is understaffed and TSMC reportedly invited its Taiwan employees to fill out applications for a few hundred jobs that are open in the U.S. Such openings include important positions in fab operations and equipment installation. TSMC would like to focus on hiring employees from the area surrounding the fab and local hires currently outnumber those sourced from Taiwan. Still, trying to fill hundreds of jobs from employees currently working in Taiwan puts a spotlight on the challenges that TSMC faces to put an American face on its Arizona fabs.
TSMC's board will meet next month in Arizona. Half of TSMC's ten-person board is made up of Americans. Culpan says that he believes the Trump administration will take credit for
TSMC's decision to hold its board meeting in the U.S. The president-elect isn't exactly on good terms with TSMC. You might recall that back in July Trump was quoted as saying, "Taiwan took our chip business from us. I mean, how stupid are we? They took all of our chip business. They’re immensely wealthy." The comment led Taiwan's economy minister Kuo Jyh-huei to make a statement denying Trump's claim.
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