Samsung Foundry has been lagging behind TSMC over the past few years. Its semiconductor chips haven't been able to perform as well as those made by TSMC. Samsung reportedly plans to use Nvidia's Digital Twin technology based on its Omniverse platform to catch up with its Taiwanese rival.
Samsung could use Nvidia's Digital Twin technology to improve chip performance
A report from EToday claims that Samsung will start testing Nvidia's Digital Twin technology (based on its Omniverse platform) to improve the yield of the semiconductor chip fabrication process. Digital Twin technology helps create virtual versions of real-world objects. Then, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and big data can be used to analyze and predict situations. If this technology is used in semiconductor chip factories, defective products can be significantly reduced, improving the yield (percentage of good chips).
The report claims that Nvidia will hold the GTC expo from March 18-21, 2024, at the San Jose Convention Center in the USA. Various tech firms, including Samsung, will attend the event. At this event, Seokjin Yoon, Executive Director of Samsung Electronics' DS Division Innovation Center, will reportedly speak on the stage to introduce its Digital Twin semiconductor chip factory based on Nvidia's Omnibus platform. The South Korean firm could unveil its plan to begin the Digital Twin pilot operation in 2025.
At the end of 2022, Samsung reportedly created the Digital Twin Task Force. In April 2023, Vice President Lee Young-woong, an expert in the Digital Twin field, was selected as head of the team. Apparently, Samsung's Digital Twin semiconductor factory will achieve Level 5, the highest level of Digital Twin smart factories.
Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong has shown keen interest in Nvidia's Digital Twin technology, which is seen as the future in the semiconductor fabrication segment. It can help improve the yield and reduce risks. According to Trend Force, Samsung's yield in the 3nm fabrication process is 60%, meaning 40% of chips created out of 100 must be discarded due to quality control issues. In comparison, TSMC's 3nm process is said to have a yield of around 70%. TSMC already uses Digital Twin, according to the report.
