Rapidus Corp., a Tokyo-based chip manufacturing startup, reportedly plans to build a fab capable of making 1.4-nanometer processors.

Nikkei Asia reported the initiative today. The fab could create more competition for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which plans to start producing 1.4-nanometer chips in 2028. Intel Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. are in the process of developing their own versions of the technology.

Rapidus launched in 2022 with backing from SoftBank Group Corp., Sony Corp. and other major Japanese companies. It has also secured billions of dollars worth of subsidies from Japan’s government. The company’s goal is to build local production lines capable of making chips based on the latest manufacturing processes.

Rapidus started testing its first production line in Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan’s four main islands, earlier this year. The production line is expected to begin making two-nanometer chips in 2027. According to Nikkei Asia, Rapidus hopes to start building its 1.4-nanometer fab the same year.

The company plans to gain an edge over established fab operators by adopting a manufacturing approach called single-wafer processing. Rapidus’ rivals also use the method, but only in certain phases of the production workflow. The chipmaker plans to implement single-wafer processing more extensively throughout its production lines. 

Several chip fabrication steps involve applying heat to silicon. One of those steps, the annealing phase, fixes any flaws that may have formed in a wafer during production. Another manufacturing method known as oxidization applies a protective layer to wafers that shields them from further damage. 

Today, most fabs carry out those high-temperature manufacturing steps in bulk. Annealing and oxidation are performed on upwards of two dozen wafers at once. Rapidus, in contrast, plans to process wafers one at a time as part of its single-wafer processing methodology. The company expects that approach to improve yields and reduce inconsistencies in wafer quality.

Rapidus also plans to boost operational efficiency in other ways.

After a silicon wafer rolls off the production line, it has to be cut into dies. From there, chipmakers must link together several dies to produce a functioning processor and then place the finished product on a base layer known as a substrate. Rapidus plans to automate that process, which currently requires a significant amount of manual work, and carry it out entirely within its fabs. Other chipmakers often entrust the task to an external supplier.

According to Nikkei Asia, Rapidus will begin the research and development work necessary for its 1.4-nanometer fab next year. The company expects the facility to begin mass production in 2029, a year after TSMC. Further down the line, Rapidus may reportedly equip the fab with the ability to make processors based on an even more advanced one-nanometer process. 

Image: Rapidus