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A purported leak of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s (TSMC) 2-nanometer chip technology might just have been an incident, suggests an industry expert writing for DigiTimes. TSMC and Tokyo Electron were caught off guard recently when their employees shared sensitive information about the former’s 2-nanometer technology. However, insiders believe that the employees involved did not access sensitive R&D information but were likely discussing the technology for equipment performance.
TSMC Might Have Let Leakers Go In Order To Set An Example, Says Expert
The details suggest that the TSMC employee involved in the purported leak was a factory engineer at Fab 20 in Hsinchu. This site is dedicated primarily to 2-nanometer mass production. As the engineer was a low-level employee, it is likely they took photographs of control diagrams or wafer maps to aid with equipment installation. The fact that these images were shared with a Tokyo Electron employee adds weight to the argument since Tokyo Electron provides semiconductor manufacturing equipment such as photoresist coaters and developers.
As a result, industry insiders believe TSMC fired the employee to set an example rather than due to a significant breach of intellectual property. Tokyo Electron also dismissed the employee involved in the breach, reports Nikkei, stating “no leakage of confidential information has been identified.” The individuals are being investigated under Taiwan’s national security law, which prevents the transfer of sensitive semiconductor manufacturing and raw material technology to regions such as Hong Kong, Macau, and China.
Industry experts also believe that while China’s SMIC and Huawei are suspected of being behind the breach, they are unlikely to benefit from the leaked information since they lack chip fabrication equipment capable of producing these chips. Additionally, Japan’s Rapidus relies on IBM’s 2-nanometer technology, which is different from TSMC’s products. As a result, while Rapidus might be interested in TSMC’s 2-nanometer progress, it would struggle to implement most of TSMC’s manufacturing technologies in its workflow.
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After news of the arrests broke, an X user and researcher going by the name Dr. Kim claims they were laid off from TSMC. “I was put on leave from TSMC over a month ago pending an investigation of leaked classified material and sadly this morning I was notified by my lawyer of charges pending against me in Taiwan,” they wrote. Whether the researcher’s legal troubles are due to recent events is unclear, and they intend to travel to Korea to avoid arrest in Taiwan.
Industry insiders also believe that Intel is an unlikely culprit since the firm focuses on mass production rather than 2-nanometer chip development. Intel shocked investors last month when it disclosed struggles with its 18A chip manufacturing technology and might have to skip offering it to external customers.
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According to industry experts, why did TSMC fire the employee involved in the purported leak of its 2-nanometer chip technology?
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