Samsung Foundry Reaches 80 Percent Yield for 4nm Process

Samsung Electronics has reached an 80 percent production yield for its 4-nanometer (SF4X) chip manufacturing process, marking the technology's transition to a mature production stage. This process, which began mass production in November 2023, reduces RC delay by approximately 26 percent through the co-optimization of transistors and interconnects. Major clients utilizing this node include IBM, Baidu, and the AI hardware company Groq, which uses the foundry for its second and third-generation language processing units.

While the 4nm process has stabilized, Samsung continues to face challenges with its smaller nodes. The company's 2-nanometer process, which entered production in September 2025 for the Exynos 2600, saw yields rise to 70 percent by early 2026. This follows a period of instability that led Qualcomm Inc. to briefly cancel a 2nm Snapdragon project before resuming talks.

To ensure stability, Samsung has delayed its 1.4-nanometer mass production target to 2029, though it intends to release the Process Design Kit to customers in the second half of 2026. This timeline trails competitor TSMC, which reportedly maintains 90 percent yields on 2-nanometer processes and targets 1.4-nanometer mass production by 2028.