Samsung claimed to have become the first company in the world to begin mass producing chips with an advanced 3nm process, a move it hopes will lure customers away from leading foundry chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC).

Compared with conventional 5nm chips, the first-generation 3nm process can reduce power consumption by up to 45 per cent, improve performance by 23 per cent and reduce area by 16 per cent, Samsung stated.

Samsung also noted that a second generation of 3nm expected in 2023 will reduce power consumption by up to 50 per cent, improve performance by 30 per cent and reduce area by 35 per cent.

The South Korea-based vendor announced in 2021 that it planned to apply a new transistor structure called “gate all around” (GAA) in the 3nm production process. At the time, Samsung also set the target of producing 2nm chips built on GAA by 2025.

Samsung’s goal is to become the world’s leading logic chipmaker by 2030. The company is already the market leader in memory chips.

In 2021, the manufacturer developed 8nm process technology for RF chips, a move claimed as a major boost for the power and efficiency of 5G communications.

Samsung also aims to close the gap to contract manufacturer TSMC, which research company TrendForce ranked at the top of the market with a 54 per cent share compared with the 16 per cent currently held by the South Korean company.