A purported leak of the 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 were caught sharing sensitive information about the former's 2-nanometer technology. However, insiders quoted in the analysis believe that the employees involved did not have access to sensitive R&D information and were likely discussing the 2-nanometer 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 in the firm's Fab 20 in Hsinchu. This site is dedicated primarily to 2-nanometer mass production, and as the engineer was a low-level employee, it is likely that they took photographs of the control diagrams or wafer maps to aid them with equipment installation. The fact that these images were shared with a Tokyo Electron employee does add weight to the argument since Tokyo Electron provides semiconductor manufacturing equipment such as photoresist coaters and developers.
As a result, industry insiders believe that TSMC fired the employee to make an example out of them rather than due to a significant breach of intellectual property. Tokyo Electron also dismissed the employee involved in the breach, reports Nikkei, as the firm maintained that "no leakage of confidential information has been identified." The individuals involved 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 do not have chip fabrication equipment that can produce these chips. Additionally, Japan's Rapidus also relies on IBM's 2-nanometer technology, which is markedly different from TSMC's products. As a result, while Rapidus might be interested in TSMC's 2-nanometer progress, the firm would be unable to implement most of TSMC's manufacturing technologies in its workflow.
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 the recent events is unclear, and they intend to travel to Korea to avoid being arrested in Taiwan.
The industry insiders quoted by DigiTimes also believe that Intel is an unlikely culprit since the firm is focused on mass production instead of 2-nanometer chip development. Intel shocked investors last month when it disclosed that it was struggling with its 18A chip manufacturing technology and might have to skip offering it to external customers.
About the author: Ramish is a seasoned technology writer and editor with more than a decade of experience. He specializes in semiconductor fabrication and market analysis. With a background in finance and supply chain management - via his bachelors in Finance and a micromasters in supply chain management from MIT - Ramish combines financial rigor with deep industry insight to deliver accurate and authoritative coverage.
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