Samsung is developing the new generation GAA (Gate Everywhere) transistors to be used in chips produced according to the 2 nm process. The company plans to introduce this technology next year. This was reported by South Korean publication Business Korea, citing its sources in the industry.

Citing its sources, the publication also states that Samsung will present a report on its third-generation GAA technology for 2nm process technology (SF2) as part of the semiconductor technology conference VLSI Symposium 2024, which will be held in Hawaii. Between 16-20 June.

GAA technology, which was put on commercial rails by Samsung for the first time in the world, is a transistor manufacturing technology with a gate that completely surrounds the channel. Since the number of transistors in the semiconductor decreases with each transition to a new technological process, it becomes increasingly difficult to control the flow of current in them. However, GAA introduces a new transistor architecture that allows for higher energy efficiency.

Currently, Samsung is the only company in the world that can mass produce GAA transistor technology for chip production. He started researching GAA in the early 2000s and applied it for the first time for the 3nm process in 2022. However, demand for Samsung’s 3nm process turned out to be negligible due to global economic instability, high production costs, and a limited customer base in sectors such as mobile devices. As a result, the lead in 3nm chip production went to Taiwanese contract chip manufacturer TSMC, which used more traditional (and cheaper) transistor manufacturing methods.

In contrast, Samsung is preparing second generation GAA transistors for the 3nm process, which it plans to introduce later this year. And next year the company will introduce the third generation GAA for the 2nm process to consolidate its leadership in this direction. TSMC and Intel also plan to eventually move to GAA technology with the transition to the 2nm manufacturing process, but this will happen later than Samsung. Thus, the South Korean company will have a certain advantage over its competitors. At least theoretically.

The official name for Samsung’s GAA technology is MBCFET. The first-generation GAA for the 3nm technology process delivered a 23 percent performance increase, a 16 percent increase in density, and a 45 percent increase in energy efficiency compared to the previous generation of Samsung FinFET transistors.

The second generation GAA for the 3nm process is expected to deliver a 30 percent increase in performance, a 35 percent increase in density and a 50 percent reduction in power consumption. The third generation MBCFET is expected to see a significant increase in performance, with a more than 50 percent increase in energy efficiency compared to the previous generation technology.