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Samsung's Exynos 2600 Hits 30% Yield on 2nm Process--A Step Toward Closing the Gap with TSMC

B

benb

Well-known member
Samsung is making strides in semiconductor technology with its Exynos 2600, built on the company’s advanced 2nm Gate-All-Around (GAA) process. Recent reports indicate that the trial production run has achieved a 30% yield—a significant improvement for Samsung, though still behind TSMC’s impressive 60% yield for its own 2nm process.

Why This Matters for Samsung​

The semiconductor industry is highly competitive, and manufacturing efficiency is a key factor in maintaining an edge. Despite trailing behind TSMC, Samsung’s 30% yield marks a notable improvement, especially considering its struggles with 3nm production. A higher yield means more functional chips per wafer, leading to better efficiency and cost-effectiveness. While 30% is far from the industry-expected 70% required to attract big customers like Qualcomm and MediaTek, it signals positive momentum for Samsung’s semiconductor division.

Samsung’s foundry business has faced challenges in gaining the trust of major clients due to previous yield issues, particularly with its 4nm and 3nm nodes. However, the 2nm process is a chance for the company to rebuild its reputation. If the yield continues to improve, Samsung could secure orders for flagship mobile processors, AI chips, and high-performance computing components in the near future.

Exynos 2600: A Game Changer?​

The Exynos 2600, codenamed ‘Ulysses,’ is expected to power Samsung’s next-generation flagship devices, potentially making a return to more premium smartphone models. With the company currently relying on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite for its Galaxy S25 series, improving its in-house chip production could significantly cut costs and reduce dependency on external suppliers.

Samsung has been working to make Exynos processors more competitive by optimizing power efficiency, thermal management, and overall performance. The 2nm GAA process introduces significant enhancements over the previous generation, promising better transistor efficiency and improved performance per watt.

Beyond smartphones, Samsung’s advancements in chip manufacturing could have broader implications for AI, automotive, and data center applications. As demand for high-performance and energy-efficient processors continues to grow, the ability to mass-produce cutting-edge chips will be a crucial factor in Samsung’s long-term success.

Challenges and Opportunities​

Although the 30% yield is a step forward, Samsung still faces significant challenges before it can compete directly with TSMC in high-volume chip manufacturing. The company needs to:
  • Improve Yield Efficiency: Reaching the 70% yield mark is crucial to securing large-scale orders from major tech companies.
  • Strengthen Client Trust: Overcoming past production setbacks and demonstrating consistency will help attract major customers.
  • Expand Production Capacity: Ensuring that its facilities are prepared for mass production without compromising quality will be vital for scaling up.
  • Advance GAA Technology: While Samsung is ahead of TSMC in adopting GAA, it must optimize its implementation to maximize benefits.
Despite these hurdles, Samsung’s continued investment in semiconductor R&D and infrastructure indicates that it is committed to competing at the highest level.

samsung exynos 2600 Samsung’s Exynos 2600 Hits 30% Yield on 2nm Process—A Step Toward Closing the Gap with TSMC

What’s Next?​

Samsung is set to begin mass production of its 2nm SF2 process in the second half of 2025. Compared to SF3, SF2 boasts a 12% performance boost, 25% better power efficiency, and a 5% reduction in area. These improvements could make the Exynos 2600 more competitive, increasing its appeal for high-end smartphones and other advanced computing applications.

If Samsung can push its yield closer to TSMC’s levels, it could re-enter the competitive foundry space and regain lost market share. The company’s long-term goal is to become a dominant force in semiconductor manufacturing, rivaling TSMC and even Intel in the coming years.

Final Thoughts​

While Samsung has a long way to go before its 2nm process becomes a commercial success, achieving a 30% yield is a step in the right direction. If the company can continue optimizing its technology, it may soon rival TSMC and secure major chip manufacturing contracts in the near future.

The semiconductor race is far from over, and with rapid technological advancements, the landscape could shift in Samsung’s favor. Stay tuned as the battle for semiconductor supremacy heats up!

technosports.co.in

Samsung’s Exynos 2600 Hits 30% Yield on 2nm Process—A Step Toward Closing the Gap with TSMC

Samsung is making strides in semiconductor technology with its Exynos 2600, built on the company’s advanced 2nm Gate-All-Around (GAA) process. Recent reports
technosports.co.in technosports.co.in
TECHNOLOGY
 
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Does anyone understand that yield as a percentage is meaningless without figuring die size and amount of logic, cache, redundancy.

What matters is the defect density of the process and how much is random and what is systematic and the process window for the systematic.

If you’d quote the % yield of a Blackwell die you Md come to the conclusion TSMC N4 process was in horrible shape
 
BruceA said:
Does anyone understand that yield as a percentage is meaningless without figuring die size and amount of logic, cache, redundancy.

What matters is the defect density of the process and how much is random and what is systematic and the process window for the systematic.

If you’d quote the % yield of a Blackwell die you Md come to the conclusion TSMC N4 process was in horrible shape
Click to expand...
exactly
 
Bunch of meanies :)

Exynos 2600 and Exynos 2500 die size is not available.
Exynos 2400 die size is 137.4 square millimeters (mm2)
Snapdragon 8 Elite (Galaxy S25 chip) is 169.8 mm2 on N4

SF2 is smaller than N4, so the die size will likely be smaller, but if it has AMD graphics, it might be larger. Flagship chips are not small.

30% is not manufacturable, but for NPI that's great. Honestly. It's not statistically meaningful, just a few wafers most likely, but with so little to go on that is still really encouraging. They should be able to get the yields up above 50% by summer, and over time, if SF2 becomes a "real node", with more customers to learn on, it will continue to climb.

After 3 GAA nodes at Samsung Foundry, yield is more mature earlier in the ramp. It looks like Foundry is competitive again.
 

[News] Samsung Reportedly Nears 2nm Win with First Qualcomm Phone AP Deal in 3 Years​

2025-04-30

While Samsung has reportedly been wrestling with 3nm yield issues and the lack of orders from major clients, there may be light at the end of the tunnel. According to Sedaily, the company is now in the final stages of locking in a deal to produce Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 using its next-gen 2nm process.

This could be a big comeback for Samsung, marking its first Qualcomm smartphone AP order in three years, as noted by Sedaily. Furthermore, the rumored deal implies a key customer win just as Samsung’s 2nm production line gears up for launch later this year, the report adds.

Still, it’s not shaping up to be a winner-takes-all for Samsung. The report says TSMC is set to produce Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 using 3nm in 2H25, while Samsung aims to leap ahead with its 2nm process—expected to power Galaxy smartphones hitting the market in 2H26.

Sedaily indicates that Samsung’s design work with the new Qualcomm chip is scheduled to wrap up in Q2 this year, with mass production kicking off in early 2026. However, output are expected to start modestly—around 1,000 12-inch wafers per month, which accounts for 15% of Samsung’s estimated 2nm capacity, the report notes.

Nevertheless, winning the order could mean a lot to Samsung, as it used to manufacture 5nm chips for Qualcomm in 2020 and 4nm in 2022, as per Sedaily.

As highlighted by another SamMobile report, Samsung used to share a longtime partnership with Qualcomm. The report points out that it began mass production of its first-generation 4nm process, SF4E, as early as 2021. SF4E was reportedly used to manufacture the Exynos 2200 and Google’s Tensor G3 chipset. Qualcomm also adopted the node for its Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and several of its 5G modems, as per the report.

www.trendforce.com

[News] Samsung Reportedly Nears 2nm Win with First Qualcomm Phone AP Deal in 3 Years | TrendForce News

While Samsung has reportedly been wrestling with 3nm yield issues and the lack of orders from major clients, there may be light at the end of the tunn...
www.trendforce.com www.trendforce.com
 

Exynos 2600 is quickly becoming a reality for the Galaxy S26 series​

Samsung's efforts to being the Exynos 2600 back into play seem to be working out.
Adnan Farooqui

Despite earlier rumors that the Galaxy S26 series may also go Snapdragon only, recent reports have suggested that things are headed in the right direction for Samsung to use the Exynos 2600in next year's flagship lineup.
If Samsung Foundry is able to achieve the necessary yield for this 2nm chip, it would be able to provide enough supply for the Galaxy S26 series. A new report indicates that with yields improving considerably, there's a good chance now that Samsung may use the Exynos 2600 for the lineup.

Samsung Foundry's yields are inching up​

One of the reasons why Samsung couldn't use the Exynos 2500 for the Galaxy S25 series, and had to opt for the Snapdragon 8 Elite, is that the 3nm yields were quite poor. This meant that the foundry couldn't supply the volumes needed by the mobile division.

Korean media is now reporting that Samsung's 2nm process yields have increased and reached the 40-50% range. Typically when a process yield hits 60% it's evaluated to be enough for mass production. With Samsung expected to mass produce the Exynos 2600 by November 2025, that leaves ample time for yields to be improved further, potentially reaching this target or even going beyond it.
On the other hand, TSMC's 2nm yields have reportedly crossed 60% already. TSMC is where Qualcomm is now getting its Snapdragon chips made, it handled the fabrication for the current top-of-the-line chip, the Snapdragon 8 Elite as well.
It remains to be seen, though, if Samsung keeps up the Exynos/Snapdragon split for the Galaxy S26 that we've seen on previous models. A recent report suggested that the Exynos-powered Galaxy S26 may only be released in Europe while other markets will get the Snapdragon variant, which is something Samsung has already done with the Galaxy S22 series.

www.sammobile.com

Exynos 2600 is quickly becoming a reality for the Galaxy S26 series

Samsung's 3nm yields have reportedly improved up to the point where the Exynos 2600 is now a real possibility for the Galaxy S26 series.
www.sammobile.com
 
Positive news for Samsung 2nm yields, design wins, and Exynos 2600 being manufacturable.
"The Exynos 2400 features an Xclipse 940 GPU, built on AMD RDNA™ 3 architecture to make gaming more immersive at every turn. Hardware-accelerated ray tracing brings every level to light, with realistic shadows and reflections for more vivid"---> While there are no official specs for Exynos 2600 yet, it will likely come with AMD graphics like 2400 did.
 
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