On August 6, #TSMC’s 2nm process suddenly leaked# became the top trending topic.
On August 5, TSMC discovered that its advanced process chip manufacturing technology might have experienced a leak of trade secrets, and has taken action against the employees deemed responsible. Multiple insiders reported that several employees involved in leaking 2nm secrets have been dismissed.
TSMC stated that recent routine monitoring detected violations, and an internal investigation revealed the leakage of trade secrets. Thanks to the company’s comprehensive monitoring mechanisms, the issue was identified early, and strict penalties have been imposed on the involved personnel, with relevant legal actions taken; the case has entered judicial proceedings.
In a statement, TSMC said: “TSMC adopts a zero-tolerance policy towards any actions that undermine the protection of trade secrets or harm the company’s interests. Such violations will be strictly dealt with and pursued legally. We are committed to protecting the company’s core competitiveness and the common interests of all employees.”
According to the investigation, about 10 individuals are involved in this incident. One is a former TSMC employee who moved to Tokyo Electron and has been detained. He contacted advanced process R&D personnel he knew during his time at TSMC to obtain trade secrets.
Six are personnel from the R&D center, who transmitted 2nm-related information over the internet during their employment and have been reassigned by TSMC.
Another three are personnel from the 2nm pilot production team, who violated regulations by connecting to the internal network while working remotely from home, using their phones to take numerous photos, and leaked at least 400 images of process integration technology to Tokyo Electron employees. The evidence is conclusive, and TSMC has directly dismissed them and handed them over to the judicial authorities. The prosecution has applied for detention with the intellectual property and commercial court, which has been approved.
The production of 2nm chips is currently one of the most advanced manufacturing processes in the semiconductor industry. As a leading global chip manufacturer, TSMC holds a vast amount of intellectual property. The company previously stated that its internal systems recorded over 200,000 trade secrets.
Reports indicate that these trade secrets have been gradually leaked to Rapidus by Tokyo Electron employees, serving as reference data for equipment adjustments during development.
Rapidus is a new high-end semiconductor manufacturer established in Hokkaido in 2022 by eight major Japanese companies, including SoftBank, Sony, Toyota, and Tokyo Electron, known as Japan’s “chip national team.” It is fiercely competing with TSMC, Samsung, and Intel, aiming to launch the 2nm process by 2025.
Notably, on July 18, Rapidus held a press conference announcing that its factory has begun testing wafer prototypes for 2nm fully surrounded gate (GAA) transistors, confirming that early 2nm test wafers have achieved the expected electrical characteristics.
TSMC’s stock price fell 2.73% yesterday, and as of the time of writing, it is down 0.6% in pre-market trading, with a market capitalization of approximately $1.21 trillion.
Tokyo Electron’s stock fell 3.77% today, with a market capitalization of approximately 10.2 trillion yen.
Editor|||Jin Mingyu, Gai YuanyuanProofreader|Chen KemingCover image source: Visual China (data image, not related to the text)
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