TSMC has completed development validation of its 1.6nm A16 process and targets
volume production in Q4. A16 uses backside power-delivery technology (Super
Power Rail, SPR) to separate power and signal routing, feeding power from the
wafer backside to reduce routing bottlenecks and improve energy efficiency and
performance while remaining compatible with existing designs. Targeting AI and
high-performance computing, A16 is cited as delivering roughly +8–10%
performance at equal power versus enhanced 2nm N2P, −15–20% power at equal
performance, and ~8–10% higher density. A16 is positioned as an intermediate
step toward 1.4nm A14, which TSMC targets for 2028 production. On the 11th
TSMC’s board approved roughly $29.44 billion in capital expenditure for advanced
process and packaging capacity (about 41 trillion KRW).
