[단독] In the semiconductor turmoil… Samsung also outsources to Taiwan

Samsung Electronics is pursuing a plan to consign (foundry) the production of general-purpose semiconductors for a long time. Taiwanese foundry company UMC is expected to mass-produce Samsung Electronics semiconductors soon, and Samsung Electronics is reportedly considering plans to entrust mass production to the US Global Foundry (GF). Samsung Electronics is planning to expand’outsourcing production’ in earnest as it believes that the shortage of foundry facilities will not be resolved in the short term. In the midst of this, investments in preparation for the’supercycle’ are accelerating as semiconductor shortages show signs of a disruption in not only the automobile but also the information technology (IT) industry.

According to the industry on the 25th, the system LSI division in charge of semiconductor design in Samsung Electronics recently signed an outsourcing contract with UMC to produce CMOS image sensors used in smartphone cameras. Since the mid-2000s when Samsung Electronics put its foundry business on track, it is unusual to entrust the production of its own products to the outside. UMC will soon begin mass production of Samsung Electronics image sensors based on a 28-nanometer (nm·1nm is 1 billionth of a meter) process. An industry official said, “Samsung Electronics has already predicted a shortage of semiconductor facilities and started product development cooperation with UMC since last year.” Told.

In addition to UMC, Samsung Electronics’ System LSI Division is considering a foundry contract with GF. Founded by separating the manufacturing division of the US semiconductor company AMD, GF has a history of close collaboration, such as signing a license agreement with Samsung Electronics in 2014 and receiving 14-nano process technology. Another industry official said, “Samsung Electronics’ System LSI Division will outsource a large number of general-purpose semiconductors, excluding advanced products such as mobile application processors (AP), as it judges that the shortage of semiconductor facilities will not be resolved for a long time. He added, “We can request consignment production from TSMC in the near future.”

In the midst of Corona 19 and the digital transformation of companies, the demand for semiconductors surpassed the rapid increase, leading to an “absolute shortage” of foundry semiconductors (consigned semiconductor products). Trend Force, a market research firm, estimated that in the first quarter of this year, sales of top ten foundry companies, including Samsung Electronics and TSMC, will increase by 20% compared to the same period of the previous year to $2.25 billion. TSMC, which has overwhelmingly ranked first with a market share of 56% in the first quarter, has filled advanced process lines below 5 nanometers with Apple, AMD, Qualcomm, and Nvidia. Samsung Electronics, second place (18% share), is also on the verge of disrupting its own mobile AP production due to large customers such as Qualcomm and Nvidia. In addition, some companies, including AMD, are in a position to turn their eyes to Samsung Electronics as they cannot guarantee production volume at TSMC.

Meanwhile, the semiconductor industry is rushing to invest in capacity expansion in preparation for the supercycle. Samsung Electronics is actively considering the expansion of a high-tech 3-nano process line worth $17 billion in its Austin, Texas plant. SK Hynix completed the M16 plant in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, and bought an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) exposure equipment worth 4.4 trillion won from ASML in the Netherlands to accelerate the mass production of a new 10-nano DRAM.

[이종혁 기자]
[ⓒ 매일경제 & mk.co.kr, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]