[TechWeb] on Thursday, Samsung Electronics said it had begun mass production of 3nm chips, beating its competitor Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd to become the world's first contract factory to mass produce 3nm chips, foreign media reported.

It is reported that the chip was expected to go on sale in 2021, but has been delayed until this year. The company did not disclose the yield and customers of the new chip, but said the chip would be used in smartphones once the yield stabilized.

Although Samsung did not announce customers for the new chip, South Korean media reported that the first customer for the new chip was PanSemi, a Chinese miner chip maker.

On Thursday, Samsung Electronics said that compared with the 5-nanometer chip, the performance of the 3-nanometer chip has improved by 23%, the power consumption has been reduced by 45%, and the chip area has been reduced by 16%. The second generation of 3nm chips, to be launched in 2023, can reduce power consumption by 50%, improve performance by 30%, and reduce chip area by 35%.

Samsung Electronics' 3nm process uses GAA technology, which aims to increase the transistor density of the chip, thereby improving energy efficiency.

Compared with the most advanced and mature FinFET transistors currently used in 5nm and 7nm, GAA is more advanced, it can control the current more accurately and the gate width is narrower.

Samsung, the world's largest memory chip maker and the second-largest contract chipmaker, is competing with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd, the world's largest contract manufacturer.

In October 2021, Samsung Electronics announced that it would start mass production of 3nm chips in the first half of 2022, a schedule ahead of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd. It is reported that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd plans to mass produce 3 nanometer chips (Little Fox) in July 2022.