Samsung to invest 8.5 trillion won in 10nm and 7nm production lines

The South Korean electronics giant is expanding its 10nm production lines and constructing new facilities for 7nm chipsets, in preparation for 2018.

According to ET News, Samsung is investing a total of 8.5 trillion won in 10nm and 7nm production lines. The South Korean company has decided to expand its 10nm chipset production and will be using its 17 Line located in Hwasung-si. With a 2.5 trillion won investment – approximately $2.18 billion – the new line will produce an additional 18,000 10nm chipsets as early as Q2 of this year.

Previously, 17 Line was called “S3” since it was going to be used exclusively for system semiconductors; however, the company has since carried out investments for DRAMs, 3D NAND flash memories, and now 10nm semiconductors. While Samsung’s investments into 10nm semiconductors are thought to have been reduced after TSMC reportedly locked up Apple’s future chipset orders, these are still very important for the South Korean company since both Snapdragon 835 and Exynos 9 series use the 10nm architecture.

Perhaps what’s more interesting is Samsung’s 6 trillion won investment in 7nm chip production. Having decided that 17 Line does not offer enough space for 7nm semiconductor production, the company is planning on constructing brand-new facilities by the end of this year. The new equipment is said to produce 30,000 7nm chipsets per month, and because the process requires high-tech Extreme Ultra Violet (EUV) exposure equipment, it’s going to be more expensive than 10nm production.

According to ET News, Samsung has ordered 8 EUV exposure systems for now, each costing around 250 billion won, and Samsung plans to finish investments for its 10nm production lines by second half of this year and 7nm production lines by early 2019. With TSMC and Samsung having officially unveiled their plans for 7nm chipsets now, it looks like the rivalry between these two will continue throughout next year.