Samsung begins mass production of 10 nm chips

Samsung Electronics has just unveiled that mass production of its first chips based on the 10 nm FinFET technology has begun. Compared to its predecessor that was built using the 14 nm technology, the new design offers increased area efficiency and the second generation is expected to debut quite soon as well.

According to the official press release, "Samsung’s new 10nm FinFET process (10LPE) adopts an advanced 3D transistor structure with additional enhancements in both process technology and design enablement compared to its 14nm predecessor, allowing up to 30-percent increase in area efficiency with 27-percent higher performance or 40-percent lower power consumption."   

Next year, the 10 nm process will move to the second generation. Samsung says mass production of the enhanced 10 nm parts is expected to begin in the second half of the year. The first-generation SoCs with 10 nm process technology that have just entered production are expected to show up inside consumer products in early 2017.