TSMC Arizona

Last updated
TSMC Arizona
231105-1 TSMC Fab 21 construction.jpg
Fab 21 construction (2023)
TSMC Arizona
Location Phoenix, Arizona
Coordinates 33°47′N112°10′W / 33.78°N 112.16°W / 33.78; -112.16 (TSMC Fab 21 semiconductor factory)
Industry Semiconductor industry
Products
Address5088 West Innovation Circle, Phoenix
Owner TSMC
Website Official website

TSMC Arizona is a semiconductor manufacturing complex in Phoenix, Arizona, United States built by TSMC. Its chip fabrication plants are the first built in the United States and with a total US$ 165 billion pledged, it is one of the largest foreign direct investments into the country's manufacturing.

Contents

In 2025, TSMC's chief executive officer C. C. Wei announced that at completion, TSMC Arizona would have a "gigafab" cluster composed of six fabs, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. [2] As of 2025, the first fab has been completed and is producing four-nanometer (nm) chips. Production for 3 nm and 2 nm chips is targeted for 2028 and 2029, respectively. [2]

History

In 2020, TSMC announced a planned fab (Fab 21) in Phoenix, Arizona, intended to begin production by 2024 at a rate of 20,000 wafers per month. At that time, TSMC announced that it would bring its newest 5 nm process to the Arizona facility, a significant break from its prior practice of limiting US fabs to older technologies. The Arizona plant was estimated to not be fully operational until 2024, when the 5 nm process is projected to be replaced by TSMC's 3 nm process as the latest technology. [3] At launch it was expected be the most advanced fab in the United States. [4] TSMC planned to spend $12 billion on the project over eight years, beginning in 2021. [3] TSMC claimed the complex would create 1,900 full-time jobs. [5]

In December 2022, TSMC announced its plans to triple its investment in the Arizona plants in response to the growing tensions between the US and China and the supply chain disruption that has led to chip shortages. [6] In that same month, TSMC stated that they were running into major cost issues, because the cost of construction of buildings and facilities in the US is four to five times what an identical plant would cost in Taiwan, (due to higher costs of labor, red tape, and training), as well as difficulty finding qualified personnel (for which it has hired US workers and sent them for training in Taiwan for 12–18 months.) These additional production costs will increase the cost of TSMC's chips made in the US to at least 50 percent more than the cost of chips made in Taiwan. [7] [8] [9] The US Commerce Department later agreed to provide $6.6 billion in direct funding and up to $5 billion in loans to TSMC for the purposes of creating semiconductor manufacturing facilities in Arizona under the CHIPS and Science Act. [10]

Halo Vista development area Halo Vista.webp
Halo Vista development area

In October 2024 it was revealed that development around the TSMC plants would be called Halo Vista, that will develop 3,500 acres of property from restaurants, hotels, housing, and other Mixed-use development. There will also be a Sonoran Oasis Research and Technology Park that will also help set up the supply chain and foster innovative development, much like how Hsinchu Science Park is to TSMC in Taiwan. [11]

In July 2025, Wei indicated that the company would speed up its production timelines on multiple manufacturing facilities following an additional $100 billion investment in Arizona. He stated that the completion of a "gigafab" cluster totaling six facilities would account for 30 percent of TSMC's 2-nanometer and more advanced capacity semiconductor production within the state. [12]

Production

Fab 21 under construction in Phoenix, Arizona in November 2023 231105-1 TSMC Fab 21 construction.jpg
Fab 21 under construction in Phoenix, Arizona in November 2023

Extreme ultraviolet lithography production equipment is sourced from ASML Holding. [13] Further key suppliers for production equipment include Applied Materials, ASM, Lam Research, KLA and Tokyo Electron as per a 2022 press release from TSMC. [14] TSMC holds additional partnerships with Amkor Technology for advanced packaging lines [15] and with Linde plc and Air Liquide for on-site supply of ultra-high-purity industrial gases. Linde supplies nitrogen, oxygen, and argon while Air Liquide supplies hydrogen, helium and carbon dioxide. [16] [17]

Access to the factory is via Arizona State Route 303 to the south of the site, and via Interstate 17 to the east of the site.

1st Fab

On December 6, 2022 an opening ceremony was held for the first plant, attended by President Joe Biden along with Morris Chang (TSMC), Tim Cook (Apple Inc.), Jensen Huang (Nvidia), and Sanjay Mehrotra (Micron Technology). [18] Phase 1 began production with a 4 nm process in early-2025, at a rate of 10,000 wafers per month [1] with a plan to scale up to 30,000 wafers per month. [19]

The cost of construction was estimated at $40 billion and planned to be TSMC's largest investment outside of Taiwan. [18] Under the CHIPS and Science Act the United States Department of Commerce gave TSMC $6.6 billion as grants [20] plus another $5 billion as loan guarantees. [1]

Further build-out

As of 2025, construction on the second fab (3 nm process) has been completed, with the third fab (1.6 and 2 nm process) under construction. [19] [21] TSMC targets production for 3 nm for 2028 and for 2 nm for 2029. [22]

As of March 2025 planned investment had been increased by $100 billion from $65 billion up to $165 billion, [23] and the number of planned fabs at the TSMC Arizona site increased from three to six. Additionally, two advanced packaging lines and an R&D center are to be part of the gigafab. [23]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Shilov, Anton (2025-01-11). "TSMC's Arizona Fab 21 is already making 4nm chips — yield and quality reportedly on par with Taiwan fabs". News. Retrieved 2025-05-19. Fab 21 in Arizona is manufacturing…: the A16 Bionic … in Apple's iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus; … Apple's S9 … for smartwatches, … and an AMD Ryzen 9000-series CPU. These chips are produced on TSMC's 4nm-class—N4 and N4P—process technologies. … production capacity is around 10,000 wafer starts per month … Under the CHIPS and Science Act, the U.S. Commerce Department provided TSMC with $6.6 billion in grants and up to $5 billion in loan guarantees. … of about $65 billion to include three fab modules … phase 1 … using 4nm and 5nm-class process technologies. … phase 2 … in 2028 with 3nm-class process technologies. … phase 3, which will produce chips on 2nm-class and 1.6nm-class nodes and their variations with backside power delivery.
  2. 1 2 "TSMC reports first-ever profits from Arizona. Here's how much it made in Phoenix" (21 August 2025) azcentral.com, accessed on 24 September 2025.
  3. 1 2 Gallagher, Dan (15 May 2020). "What a Small Chip Fab Really Buys". The Wall Street Journal . Archived from the original on 6 December 2020. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
  4. ↑ Smith, Ryan (15 May 2020). "TSMC To Build 5nm Fab In Arizona, Set To Come Online In 2024". Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  5. ↑ Chang, Eric (24 December 2020). "Taiwan's TSMC begins hiring push for $12 billion Arizona facility". Taiwan News. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  6. ↑ "iPhone chip-maker TSMC invests $40bn in Arizona plants". BBC News. 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  7. ↑ Jie, Yang (5 December 2022). "TSMC's Arizona Chip Plant, Awaiting Biden Visit, Faces Birthing Pains – Taiwanese company cites high costs and shortage of skilled personnel as it pushes to open $12 billion factory next year". Wall Street Journal . Archived from the original on 3 March 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2023. Mr. Chang said the cost of making chips in Arizona may be at least 50 percent higher than in Taiwan.
  8. ↑ Smith, Noah (7 February 2023). "The Build-Nothing Country – Stasis has become America's spoils system, and it can't go on". Archived from the original on 3 March 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2023. Even in semiconductors, the ultra-high-tech industry where the U.S. and its allies must maintain leadership in order to maintain their edge over China, the U.S. can't seem to build much. TSMC, the Taiwanese company that recently agreed to build a big plant in Arizona, is running into major cost issues:
  9. ↑ @kevinsxu (14 January 2023). "We're not able to share with you a specific cost gap number between Taiwan and US, but we can share with you that the major reason for the cost gap is the construction cost of building and facilities, which can be 4 to 5x greater for US fab versus a fab in Taiwan" (Tweet). Retrieved 2023-03-02– via Twitter.
  10. ↑ Park, Kate (8 April 2024). "US to award TSMC $6.6B in grants, $5B in loans to step up chip manufacturing in Arizona". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 8 April 2024. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  11. ↑ "Developers unveil Halo Vista, a 'city within a city' surrounding TSMC in Phoenix".
  12. ↑ Hupka, Sasha. "TSMC to speed up AZ expansion after record profits, soaring chip demand". azcentral.com. Arizona Republic. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  13. ↑ Islam, Faisal (2025-05-19). "The secretive US factory that lays bare the contradiction in Trump's America First plan". BBC News . Retrieved 2025-05-19.
  14. ↑ "TSMC Announces Updates for TSMC Arizona" (6 December 2022) Official Press Release, TSMC.
  15. ↑ "Amkor and TSMC to Expand Partnership and Collaborate on Advanced Packaging in Arizona". Amkor Technologies. 3 October 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  16. ↑ "Linde Signs Long-Term Agreement to Supply New World-Class Semiconductor Manufacturing Complex in the U.S." Linde plc. 8 September 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  17. ↑ "Air Liquide announces long term agreement to supply semiconductor manufacturing site in Arizona". Air Liquide. 25 January 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  18. 1 2 Holland, Steve; Lee, Jane (2022-12-06). "TSMC triples Arizona chip plant investment, Biden hails project". Reuters . Retrieved 2025-05-19. Apple CEO Tim Cook … joining Biden at the facility's opening ceremony was TSMC founder Morris Chang, chipmaker Micron Technology … CEO Sanjay Mehrotra and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, among others. … $40 billion funding for the two facilities is the company's largest investment outside of Taiwan
  19. 1 2 "TSMC Said to Plan 2nm Production in U.S., 1nm Fab in Tainan". News. Trendforce. Commercial Times reports that TSMC's Arizona wafer fab, Fab 21 Phase 1, has officially entered mass production on its 4nm process in the first quarter of [2025]. Monthly capacity is expected to reach 30,000 wafers by mid-year [2025] … Fab 21's Phase 2 and Phase 3 … completion slated for 2025 and 2027, respectively. … nanosheet transistor structure for TSMC's 2nm process
  20. ↑ Ngo, Madeleine; Clark, Don (2024-04-08). "TSMC Will Receive $6.6 Billion to Bolster U.S. Chip Manufacturing". New York Times . Washington; San Francisco. Retrieved 2025-05-19. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company plans to build an additional factory and upgrade another planned facility in Phoenix with the federal grants.
  21. ↑ Shilov, Anton (2025-05-16). "TSMC to spend $42 billion on expansion in 2025 — ambitious plans detail nine production facilities". Tom's Hardware . Retrieved 2025-06-05.
  22. ↑ TSMC Arizona History TSMC
  23. 1 2 Kan, Michael (2025-03-03). "TSMC to Build 3 New US Fabs With $100 Billion Investment". PCMag . "five cutting-edge fabrication" facilities in Arizona, Trump said … event at the White House with TSMC CEO CC Wei. … $100 billion is on top of the $65 billion the company has already committed to the Arizona site, … "We are going to build three more new fabs," two advanced packaging fabs for the chips, and an R&D center, Wei said.
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