The new 5nm-process line based on EUV will launch operations in 2021.
Samsung has started constructing a new chip-making line at its plant in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, the company reported Thursday.
The new line will make chips that are 5 nanometers or smaller using extreme ultraviolet (EUV) technology, Samsung has said.
The South Korean tech giant added that it will launch full operations in 2021 and make chips for use in 5 G, high-performance computing and artificial intelligence. Samsung first announced last year the successful evolution of a 5 nm EUV-based process.
Once the new line is complete, Samsung will have a total of seven chip-making contract lines located in South Korea and the USA.
In 2019 the company started producing EUV-based chips made using the 7 nm process.
Samsung started operations of its EUV-dedicated line, called V1, at its plant in Hwaseong, South Korea, in February, making chips in the 7 nm process.
The V1 line will start manufacturing 5 nm chips by mass later this year, Samsung said.
The South Korean tech giant is a world leader in memory chips, but second-place in contract chip-making to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), called foundry in the semiconductor industry.
TSMC announced on Friday that it is building a new 5 nm chip line in Arizona, and will spend $12 billion between 2021 and 2029.
Last year, Samsung said it would invest 133 trillion won, or approximately $115 billion, into logic chip businesses, including foundry, by 2030 to become the area’s market leader.
