IDF: TSMC says it will never serve only one customer

SAN FRANCISCO: CHIP FAB Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) said today that it will never serve only one customer, but reserves capacity for some customers.

TSMC - which has clients such as AMD, Nvidia and Qualcomm - has come under fire for being unable to meet demand for its 28nm process node. Recently the firm hit the headlines after reports that Apple and Qualcomm tried to buy a stake in the company in order to assure production capacity, however TSMC told The INQUIRER that it will never service just one customer, though it reserves capacity for certain customers.

With TSMC's 28nm process node maturing nicely, Suk Lee, the senior director of TSMC's design infrastructure marketing division, told The INQUIRER that the firm expects to meet demand for 28nm chips by the end of 2013. Lee said the company is busy building new fabs to increase production capacity, although he didn't say when they will come online.

Lee rubbished rumours that TSMC might become a dedicated chip shop for any one company. However Lee said TSMC already reserves capacity for some of its customers. He didn't say whether that means it sets aside an entire fab for a single customer.

TSMC recently invested in Dutch semiconductor equipment maker AMSL to work on research into extreme ultraviolet lithography, and like all other chipmakers it is spending a great deal of time and money on researching larger wafers. With the firm rejecting advances from Apple and Qualcomm, it looks like there will be few shortcuts for those customers waiting in line for TSMC's production capacity. µ