{"id":3741,"date":"2026-06-22T22:30:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T14:30:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.taichungbro.com\/?p=3741"},"modified":"2026-06-22T22:44:06","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T14:44:06","slug":"advanced-vs-mature-process-applications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.taichungbro.com\/en\/2026\/06\/22\/advanced-vs-mature-process-applications\/","title":{"rendered":"Where are advanced and mature process technologies used? A comprehensive guide from AI chips and automotive MCUs to power devices."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When you see news about 3nm and 2nm, it&#039;s easy to get the intuition that the smaller the nanometer number, the more advanced the chip; if that&#039;s the case, all products should eventually switch to the smallest node. But if you actually walk into the semiconductor supply chain, you&#039;ll find that 28nm, 40nm, and even larger mature processes are still in mass production, and many products aren&#039;t in a hurry to move to these newer processes.<\/p>\n<p>The reason is not complicated.<strong>Advanced processes primarily address the issues of high computing density and low power consumption; mature processes excel in cost, reliability, specialized components, and long-term supply.<\/strong>CPUs, GPUs, and AI accelerators require a large number of transistors to be packed into a limited area, making advanced nodes more suitable. However, automotive MCUs, power management ICs, display drivers, sensors, and power components tend to prioritize voltage withstand capability, analog characteristics, yield, and verification lifespan, making mature nodes a more reasonable choice.<\/p>\n<p>This article doesn&#039;t rank the two in terms of superiority or inferiority, but rather answers questions from a practical application perspective: Which chips are worth using advanced processes? Which products are more cost-effective to remain on mature processes? And what criteria should be used to make these judgments?<\/p>\n<nav class=\"article-toc\" aria-labelledby=\"article-toc-heading\" style=\"margin-block: 1.5em;\">\n<h2 id=\"article-toc-heading\">Table of Contents<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#process-node-definition\" style=\"color: #00c8d7; text-decoration: underline;\">How do you distinguish between advanced and mature manufacturing processes?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#advanced-process-applications\" style=\"color: #00c8d7; text-decoration: underline;\">In which products are advanced manufacturing processes mainly used?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#mature-process-applications\" style=\"color: #00c8d7; text-decoration: underline;\">Why are mature manufacturing processes still used in a large number of chips?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#automotive-and-industrial\" style=\"color: #00c8d7; text-decoration: underline;\">Why do automotive and industrial chips prefer mature nodes?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#comparison-table\" style=\"color: #00c8d7; text-decoration: underline;\">What are the engineering differences between advanced and mature processes?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#mixed-node-design\" style=\"color: #00c8d7; text-decoration: underline;\">Can a product use two different manufacturing processes simultaneously?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#selection-checklist\" style=\"color: #00c8d7; text-decoration: underline;\">What questions should be asked first when assessing a manufacturing process?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#right-node-is-best\" style=\"color: #00c8d7; text-decoration: underline;\">The most suitable node for the product is the truly advanced one.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/nav>\n<h2 id=\"process-node-definition\">How do you distinguish between advanced and mature manufacturing processes?<\/h2>\n<p>Originally, process nodes were more directly related to transistor gate size. However, with the advent of 3D transistors such as FinFET and GAA, 3nm and 5nm can no longer be considered as the actual length of a single structure. Today, node names are more like codes for a set of process generations and design rules, used to represent a combination of transistor density, performance, power consumption, and manufacturing capabilities.<\/p>\n<p>There is no globally unified, fixed boundary between &quot;advanced&quot; and &quot;mature&quot;. Generally, the market refers to nodes that are pushing the limits of logic density and using the latest transistor architecture and lithography equipment as advanced processes; while nodes that have been in mass production for many years and have stable yields and supply chains are referred to as mature processes. As time goes on, what was originally an advanced node will gradually mature, so one should not rely solely on a nanometer boundary when making judgments.<\/p>\n<p>A more practical perspective is that advanced manufacturing processes aim to &quot;how many operations can be performed per square millimeter,&quot; while mature processes aim to &quot;whether this function can be reliably performed for many years at a controllable cost.&quot; The problems they address are fundamentally different.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"advanced-process-applications\">In which products are advanced manufacturing processes mainly used?<\/h2>\n<p>Advanced manufacturing processes are most suitable<strong>The transistors are numerous, have high computing density, and their power consumption directly limits product performance.<\/strong>These are chips. Typical applications include mobile SoCs, desktop and server CPUs, GPUs, AI accelerators, high-speed network switching chips, and some high-end FPGAs.<\/p>\n<p>Taking AI chips as an example, fitting more computing units and caches into the same area can potentially increase computing power per watt; improvements in transistor switching and leakage current control can also reduce the power supply and heat dissipation pressure on data centers. TSMC&#039;s official N2 documentation lists performance and power consumption improvements as key values, rather than just emphasizing &quot;smaller size.&quot; To further understand the relationship between AI chips from wafer to system, you can refer to...<a href=\"https:\/\/www.taichungbro.com\/en\/2025\/02\/20\/high-density-packaging\/\" style=\"color: #00c8d7; text-decoration: underline;\">Structural Analysis of High-Density IC Packaging Technology<\/a>Let&#039;s read together.<\/p>\n<p>However, the costs of advanced nodes are also direct: higher costs for wafers, photomasks, EDA verification, and IP licensing; more complex design rules; and greater losses from development failures. Therefore, it is suitable for products with large shipment volumes, high unit prices, or performance and power consumption advantages that can be translated into market value, rather than being the standard answer for all chips.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"mature-process-applications\">Why are mature manufacturing processes still used in a large number of chips?<\/h2>\n<p>Mature manufacturing processes are commonly found in MCUs, power management ICs (PMICs), analog ICs, display driver ICs, image sensors, MEMS, RF components, and some power semiconductors. These chips may not require billions of transistors, but they may need higher operating voltages, low noise, accurate analog characteristics, non-volatile memory, or special material structures.<\/p>\n<p>For example, an MCU&#039;s job is to read sensors, control motors, process communications, and execute real-time control. When the program and computational load are not large, moving it from a mature node to a state-of-the-art node may not result in the area and power savings offsetting the costs of redesign, verification, and photomask installations. Sensors are not necessarily better the smaller they are; MEMS require mechanical structures, cavities, and specific thicknesses, and their design priorities are completely different from those of pure logic transistors. Relevant manufacturing background information can be found at [reference needed].<a href=\"https:\/\/www.taichungbro.com\/en\/2025\/09\/22\/mems\/\" style=\"color: #00c8d7; text-decoration: underline;\">MEMS Manufacturing Process from Silicon Wafer to Sensor<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Maturity does not equate to obsolescence. It signifies that through long-term learning of process windows, defect modes, packaging methods, and the supply chain, engineers are better able to predict product behavior under variations in temperature, voltage, and time. For products with fixed functions and long lifecycles, this predictability is often more valuable than simply adding more transistors.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"automotive-and-industrial\">Why do automotive and industrial chips prefer mature nodes?<\/h2>\n<p>Automotive and industrial equipment often require products to be supplied continuously for more than ten years and to operate stably under high and low temperatures, vibration, power supply noise, and electromagnetic interference. Once the manufacturing process of a chip is changed, functional safety, reliability, and whole vehicle system verification often need to be redone; the time and cost involved cannot be calculated simply by looking at the price per wafer.<\/p>\n<p>While advanced manufacturing processes certainly exist within vehicles\u2014for example, the intelligent cockpit and autonomous driving computing platform require high computing power\u2014window control, battery management, motor control, radar peripherals, airbags, and numerous sensor interfaces still heavily rely on mature nodes. This creates a phenomenon that is often overlooked:<strong>In the same vehicle, the most advanced computing chips and very mature control chips can coexist.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Power devices better illustrate why the idea that &quot;smaller nanometers are better&quot; doesn&#039;t hold true. Power devices need to withstand high voltages and high currents, making drift layers, on-resistance, breakdown electric fields, and heat dissipation paths crucial. SiC and GaN even alter performance boundaries through the material system itself, rather than chasing the smallest linewidth for logic ICs.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"comparison-table\">What are the engineering differences between advanced and mature processes?<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Comparison items<\/th>\n<th>Advanced process<\/th>\n<th>Mature process<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Main objectives<\/td>\n<td>High transistor density, efficiency and operation per watt<\/td>\n<td>Cost, yield, reliability and integration of special components<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Typical products<\/td>\n<td>CPU, GPU, mobile SoC, AI accelerator, high-speed network<\/td>\n<td>MCU, PMIC, analog IC, sensor, display driver, power components<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Development costs<\/td>\n<td>High costs associated with photomasks, IP, verification, and design.<\/td>\n<td>The tools and ecosystem are mature, and the development threshold is usually low.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>wafer area<\/td>\n<td>Suitable for miniaturizing high-density digital logic<\/td>\n<td>It may not be advantageous for high voltage, analog, and passive components.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Mass production risk<\/td>\n<td>New nodes need to go through a yield ramp-up process in the initial stage.<\/td>\n<td>The process window and failure modes are relatively clear.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Product Lifecycle<\/td>\n<td>Commonly found in rapidly iterating, high-priced products<\/td>\n<td>Suitable for long-term supply and high-reliability products<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n<p>This table doesn&#039;t suggest that mature manufacturing processes are always cheaper. Wafer size, specialized modules, supply and demand, and packaging and testing all affect costs; similarly, advanced processes that can significantly reduce the size of expensive SoCs may become economically viable in large-scale shipments. The real comparison should be of the total product cost, not just nanometer numbers or per-wafer prices.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"mixed-node-design\">Can a product use two different manufacturing processes simultaneously?<\/h2>\n<p>Yes, and chiplets and advanced packaging are making this division of labor more common. High-performance computing systems can place the computing cores that require the most density and speed on advanced nodes, and then place I\/O, analog, RF, or caching functions on more mature and cost-effective nodes, and finally integrate them through 2.5D or 3D packaging.<\/p>\n<p>TSMC&#039;s official 3DFabric introduction also highlights heterogeneous integration as a key direction: functions that are not easily scaled with logic nodes do not have to be forced to use the same manufacturing process as the computing core. This approach is not a compromise, but rather allows each die to use the most suitable technology. For an explanation of how packaging connects different dies, please refer to further reading.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.taichungbro.com\/en\/2023\/10\/28\/semiconductor-packaging\/\" style=\"color: #00c8d7; text-decoration: underline;\">Development and application of advanced packaging technology<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Hybrid nodes also come at a cost: inter-die interfaces, testing, packaging yield, heat dissipation, and supply chain management are all more complex. For small-scale products, a mature single-chip process may still be the simplest and most reliable approach.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"selection-checklist\">What questions should be asked first when assessing a manufacturing process?<\/h2>\n<p>Instead of asking &quot;Can we use 3nm?&quot;, engineers should typically ask the following questions in order:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Does computational density really constitute a bottleneck?<\/strong>If the product only requires simple control, the value of reducing the logical area may be limited.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Does the reduction in power consumption bring system benefits?<\/strong>For mobile phones and data centers, every watt saved is important; for low-frequency controllers, the difference may be small.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Is high voltage, analog, RF, embedded memory, or MEMS required?<\/strong>Specialized components often play a more decisive role in node selection than pure digital scaling.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Can the development costs be amortized by the shipment volume and selling price?<\/strong>The costs of photomasks and verification for advanced nodes require sufficient commercial scale to support them.<\/li>\n<li><strong>How long will it take to supply the product, and how strict will the certification be?<\/strong>Automotive, medical, and industrial control products typically place greater emphasis on long-term supply and reliability records.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Can it be split into chiplets of different nodes?<\/strong>If only some functions require advanced processes, heterogeneous integration may be more reasonable than relocating the entire chip.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Furthermore, power density often increases with process miniaturization, requiring simultaneous evaluation of packaging and heat dissipation. Focusing solely on the chip&#039;s nominal power consumption while neglecting system thermal design can easily squander the benefits of process miniaturization on frequency reduction and cooling; alternative approaches may be needed.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.taichungbro.com\/en\/2024\/11\/06\/tdp\/\" style=\"color: #00c8d7; text-decoration: underline;\">How to interpret TDP and PUE<\/a>Examine the overall energy costs.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"right-node-is-best\">The most suitable node for the product is the truly advanced one.<\/h2>\n<p>The value of advanced manufacturing processes lies in driving AI, mobile phones, and high-performance computing forward with higher density and better performance per watt; the value of mature manufacturing processes lies in supporting automobiles, industrial equipment, and everyday electronic products with stable yields, special component capabilities, reliability records, and long-term supply.<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, seeing a chip using 28nm or 40nm doesn&#039;t immediately indicate it&#039;s outdated; similarly, seeing 2nm or 3nm doesn&#039;t guarantee a product&#039;s success based solely on the node. First, determine what the chip is meant to do, then compare performance, power consumption, voltage withstand capability, cost, reliability, and lead time. True maturity in semiconductor design lies in using the right process in the right place.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u5148\u9032\u88fd\u7a0b\u4e0d\u4e00\u5b9a\u5168\u9762\u52dd\u904e\u6210\u719f\u88fd\u7a0b\u3002\u672c\u6587\u5f9e AI \u6676\u7247\u3001\u624b\u6a5f\u8655\u7406\u5668\u3001\u8eca\u7528 MCU\u3001\u611f\u6e2c\u5668\u3001\u985e\u6bd4 IC \u8207\u529f\u7387\u5143\u4ef6\uff0c\u89e3\u6790\u4e0d\u540c\u7bc0\u9ede\u5728\u6548\u80fd\u3001\u6210\u672c\u3001\u53ef\u9760\u5ea6\u53ca\u4f9b\u61c9\u4e0a\u7684\u5be6\u969b\u5206\u5de5\u3002<\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":3740,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[444,451,448,452,447,449,450],"class_list":["post-3741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industrial-knowledge","tag-ai","tag-mcu","tag-448","tag-452","tag-447","tag-449","tag-450"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taichungbro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taichungbro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taichungbro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taichungbro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taichungbro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3741"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.taichungbro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3741\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3743,"href":"https:\/\/www.taichungbro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3741\/revisions\/3743"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taichungbro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taichungbro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taichungbro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taichungbro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}