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Freedom251 › Blog › 2nm

How Semiconductor Foundries Manufacture Chips on 3nm and 2nm Processes

By Freedom251 Team · · 10 min read

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3nm and 2nm chips are made through the same broad wafer-fabrication cycle used at older nodes, but with far tighter control, new transistor structures and more demanding design rules. Foundries repeatedly deposit or grow films, coat wafers with photoresist, expose patterns with lithography, develop and etch those patterns, implant or selectively process materials, clean and planarize the surface, then measure and inspect every critical layer. After hundreds of such steps, wafers are electrically tested, diced and packaged.

The labels do not mean that every transistor feature measures exactly 3 or 2 nanometers. They identify process generations. Meaningful comparisons use transistor density, performance at a specified power, power at a specified performance, area, SRAM behavior, design-rule compatibility, yield and cost.

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What a foundry actually does to make a 3nm or 2nm chip

A foundry begins with a highly polished silicon wafer and builds the chip upward, one patterned layer at a time. The sequence is repeated for the transistor structures and then for the many metal layers that distribute power and signals. A modern leading-edge chip can require hundreds of individual process operations, with cleaning, measurements and defect checks interspersed throughout.

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1. Prepare the wafer and form the first films

Incoming wafers are cleaned and inspected before the factory grows or deposits films such as silicon, silicon-germanium, silicon dioxide, high-k dielectric and metal layers. Thermal growth, chemical-vapor deposition, atomic-layer deposition and physical deposition are selected according to the thickness, composition and uniformity required. At 2nm dimensions, a small thickness variation can change transistor voltage, leakage or drive current, so deposition uniformity is a yield issue rather than a cosmetic detail.

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2. Print a pattern with photoresist and lithography

The wafer is coated with photoresist, baked and exposed through a mask. Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography prints selected critical layers; other layers can use deep-ultraviolet methods, multiple patterning or cut-and-block schemes. Exposure alone does not create a working transistor. The resist must be developed, the pattern transferred into the underlying film, and its position checked against earlier layers.

3. Etch, implant and selectively modify materials

Dry or wet etching removes exposed material with controlled selectivity. Ion implantation adds dopants that define wells, source and drain regions, while selective epitaxial growth can add silicon or silicon-germanium where extra strain or conductivity is needed. New transistor architectures require process modules that were not necessary for a conventional planar device, increasing integration difficulty.

4. Clean, planarize and measure

Residues and particles are removed after patterning and etch. Chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) flattens the wafer so the next layer can be aligned to a predictable surface. Metrology measures critical dimensions, film thickness, overlay and electrical properties. Automated inspection searches for particles, scratches, missing features and pattern defects. Data from these checks is fed back into process control while the wafer is still in production.

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5. Build interconnects, then test and package

Once the transistors are complete, foundries construct contacts, vias and multiple levels of copper or other interconnect metals. These layers connect billions of devices and can consume a large share of the chip’s delay and power budget. Finished wafers are electrically probed, diced into individual dies, assembled in packages and tested again. A die that fails specification is rejected; the fraction that passes is the manufacturing yield.

What “3nm” and “2nm” mean—and what they do not

Node names are generation labels inherited from an era when a principal transistor dimension tracked the marketing number more closely. At modern nodes, no single dimension reliably equals the label. Gate length, contacted pitch, metal pitch, fin or nanosheet dimensions and SRAM cell size all differ, and companies choose their own naming conventions.

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For a useful comparison, ask which design is denser, how much performance it delivers at a stated power, how much power it uses for a stated performance target, how large a complete block is, how SRAM scales, which design rules and libraries are available, and what yield and wafer cost look like. A “2nm” process from one supplier is not automatically faster, smaller or cheaper than a “3nm” process from another.

How TSMC’s N3 and N2 processes differ

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) says its N3 process was the first 3nm FinFET process to enter high-volume production, in 2022. FinFETs use a raised, fin-shaped silicon channel controlled by a gate on multiple sides. TSMC’s N2 generation changes the device structure to first-generation nanosheet transistors. TSMC’s 2025 annual report says N2 entered high-volume manufacturing in the fourth quarter of 2025 with good yield and a fast ramp expected.

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The same annual report states that 3nm technologies produced 24% of TSMC’s total wafer revenue in 2025. That figure is a revenue mix for TSMC’s business, not a market-share measure and not a statement that 3nm chips are 24% of all chips.

TSMC process milestones

Process Transistor structure Production information
N3 FinFET High-volume production began in 2022, according to TSMC.
N2 First-generation nanosheet High-volume manufacturing began in 4Q25; TSMC’s 2025 annual report describes good yield.

TSMC treats packaging as part of its manufacturing platform. Its CoWoS, InFO and SoIC technologies support large multi-die packages, chip stacking and high-bandwidth connections. This matters because an advanced compute system may combine several dies rather than rely on one enormous monolithic die.

How Samsung’s 3nm GAA and SF2 approach works

Samsung announced initial production of 3nm chips using its Gate-All-Around Multi-Bridge-Channel FET (MBCFET) architecture. Instead of a vertical fin, the device uses horizontally stacked nanosheet channels. Samsung says the width of each nanosheet can be adjusted to trade drive current, power and performance for a particular circuit.

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For its first-generation 3nm process compared with its 5nm process, Samsung reported up to 45% lower power, 23% higher performance and 16% smaller area. These are Samsung’s stated, conditional comparisons; they are not universal results for every chip or workload.

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Samsung’s 2023 roadmap described SF2 as a 2nm process with mass production planned first for mobile products in 2025, expansion to high-performance computing in 2026 and automotive applications in 2027. Samsung reported targets of 12% higher performance, 25% better power efficiency and 5% smaller area versus SF3. Those percentages are vendor projections or modeled comparisons tied to the specified predecessor and design conditions.

Samsung process claims in context

Generation Architecture Published comparison Qualification
Samsung 3nm first generation GAA MBCFET nanosheets Up to 45% lower power, 23% higher performance, 16% smaller area versus Samsung 5nm Samsung Semiconductor, 2022; “up to” figures depend on design and conditions.
SF2 (2nm) GAA nanosheet roadmap 12% higher performance, 25% better power efficiency, 5% smaller area versus SF3 Samsung Electronics roadmap, 2023; staged production by application.

Why gate-all-around nanosheets are important

In a FinFET, the gate wraps around three sides of a fin. A gate-all-around (GAA) transistor surrounds a horizontal nanosheet channel, giving the gate more complete electrostatic control. Better control can reduce leakage when the transistor is off and preserve switching behavior as dimensions shrink.

Nanosheets also allow channel width to be tuned. A wider sheet can provide more drive current for a performance-critical path; a narrower sheet can reduce capacitance or leakage in a power-sensitive block. That flexibility is useful for standard-cell libraries and mixed workloads.

The benefit comes with significant manufacturing and design cost. The foundry must release and selectively remove sacrificial layers, form uniform stacked sheets, create a conformal gate around them and control variability across the wafer. Designers need new transistor models, standard-cell libraries, extraction rules, reliability data and design-technology co-optimization. Existing FinFET layouts cannot simply be printed on a GAA process.

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Where EUV fits in the 3nm and 2nm flow

EUV is a patterning tool, not a complete chip-making technology. It exposes selected critical layers with very short-wavelength light, reducing the number of patterning steps needed for some dense features. The wafer still needs resist coating and development, etch with adequate selectivity, deposition, cleaning, CMP, overlay control, metrology and defect inspection.

At these nodes, the challenge is the interaction of all modules. A pattern can be printed correctly yet fail after etch because a sidewall profile is wrong, or pass dimensional inspection but produce electrical failures because a film interface is contaminated. Design rules are created with the process window in mind, so circuit layout, mask data and manufacturing conditions are optimized together.

Samsung has highlighted its history of introducing high-k metal gate, FinFET and EUV technologies into foundry manufacturing. The statement demonstrates the role of EUV in a broader process integration strategy; it does not mean EUV alone determines yield or transistor performance.

A step-by-step view of a leading-edge wafer lot

  1. Incoming control: Verify wafer flatness, crystal quality, surface particles and starting electrical characteristics.
  2. Film formation: Grow or deposit the dielectric, semiconductor and metal films specified by the process module.
  3. Resist preparation: Spin-coat photoresist, bake it and control thickness and chemical uniformity.
  4. Exposure: Align the wafer to previous layers and expose the mask pattern with EUV or another lithography system.
  5. Development: Remove the exposed or unexposed resist, depending on the resist chemistry, leaving the temporary pattern.
  6. Pattern transfer: Etch the underlying film, stop at the required interface and strip the remaining resist.
  7. Electrical modification: Implant dopants, grow selective epitaxy or apply other localized treatments.
  8. Surface restoration: Clean chemical residues and particles, then use CMP when a flat surface is required.
  9. Inline verification: Measure critical dimensions, overlay, thickness and defectivity; adjust tools or recipes when trends move.
  10. Repetition: Repeat the cycle for transistor features, contacts and every interconnect layer.
  11. Wafer sort: Probe completed dies electrically and map pass/fail results across the wafer.
  12. Assembly: Dice the wafer, package the dies, burn in or otherwise qualify them, and perform final functional testing.
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Yield, cost and why a working node is not automatically profitable

Yield is the proportion of manufactured dies that meet all specifications after fabrication and test. Defect density is one contributor, but yield also depends on process variation, design sensitivity, test limits and how quickly engineers learn from failures. A large die has more opportunities to contain a defect than a small die, so the economics of a process depend on both the wafer process and the customer’s design.

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Leading-edge wafers require expensive lithography, deposition, etch, inspection and metrology equipment. Extra masks, longer cycle times and engineering wafers raise development cost. A node becomes commercially useful only when it can deliver predictable performance and power at a yield and wafer price that support the product’s margin.

Yield statements must be read with their date and scope. TSMC’s description of N2 entering high-volume manufacturing with good yield is a company report about its ramp, not a guarantee that every customer design immediately achieves the same yield. Samsung’s PPA percentages likewise describe specified comparisons rather than an independent industry benchmark.

Why packaging and the design ecosystem matter as much as the wafer

A leading-edge die is only one part of a working processor or accelerator. Advanced packages connect multiple dies, memory and power-delivery structures with short, dense interconnects. TSMC identifies CoWoS for chiplet and high-bandwidth integration, InFO for fan-out packaging and SoIC for three-dimensional stacking.

Samsung describes a partner ecosystem that includes electronic-design-automation (EDA) software, intellectual property (IP), cloud resources, design services and outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) providers. These partners supply verified interface blocks, process-aware design tools, package assembly and qualification. Without them, a nominally available node may be impractical for a product team.

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3nm versus 2nm: the comparisons that answer the practical question

Question What can be stated What cannot be assumed
Does the label equal a physical dimension? No. It is a process-generation name. That every gate, wire or transistor is 3nm or 2nm.
Are all 3nm processes alike? No. TSMC N3 uses FinFET; Samsung introduced GAA MBCFET at 3nm. That one company’s 3nm has the same density or PPA as another’s.
What changes at 2nm? Leading offerings move toward nanosheet GAA devices, tighter rules and new libraries. A guaranteed percentage improvement for every design.
Is EUV sufficient? It patterns selected critical layers within a larger process. That EUV alone creates a complete transistor or ensures high yield.
Who is making 2nm-class products? TSMC reports N2 high-volume manufacturing from 4Q25; Samsung announced SF2 production staged by mobile, HPC and automotive applications. That every announced schedule or yield applies to every customer and region.

Which foundries are making 2nm chips?

Based on the published milestones, TSMC reports that its N2 process entered high-volume manufacturing in the fourth quarter of 2025. Samsung’s SF2 plan called for mobile mass production in 2025, high-performance-computing expansion in 2026 and automotive expansion in 2027. These are foundry process programs, not proof that a specific consumer device is shipping on the node. Actual availability depends on customer tape-outs, qualification, package choice and production allocation.

What chip designers and buyers should check

  • Process definition: Ask for transistor architecture, contacted and metal pitches, SRAM options and the exact design-rule manual, not just the node name.
  • PPA evidence: Require the comparison node, voltage, frequency, library conditions and whether the figures are modeled, measured or “up to” targets.
  • Manufacturing maturity: Check the date of the yield statement, defect-learning status, wafer capacity and the product’s die size.
  • Design enablement: Confirm EDA tools, IP blocks, standard-cell libraries, memory compilers, reliability rules and signoff flows.
  • Package path: Verify whether the required 2.5D, fan-out or stacked package is available at the intended volume.
  • Lifecycle needs: Automotive and other long-lived products require qualification, reliability data and a supply plan that may differ from mobile production.

The central engineering reality is that 3nm and 2nm are coordinated manufacturing systems. Transistor architecture, lithography, materials, process control, design software, yield learning and packaging must work together. The node number is a shorthand for that system, not a ruler placed against one feature on the die.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

2nm3nmChip ManufacturingEUV lithographyfoundriesGAA transistorssemiconductors

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