Samsung's advanced 8nm LPP process node is now ready for production

Samsung has announced that it has completed qualification on its 8-nanometer (nm) FinFET process technology, 8LPP (Low Power Plus), paving the way for it to start mass producing the node.

The South Korean tech giant delivered the news in a press release earlier today, stating that the new technology uses up to 10% less power than 10LPP — which Samsung completed the qualification of earlier this year — and has a 10% smaller surface area. Samsung also said that, while the process tech would have implications for mobile, it could also have benefits for cryptocurrency mining and network/server equipment, as well as “many other high-performance applications.”

“As the most advanced and competitive process node before EUV (extreme ultraviolet) is employed at 7nm, 8LPP is expected to rapidly ramp-up to the level of stable yield by adopting the already proven 10nm process technology,” wrote Samsung in the press release.

Qualcomm is anticipated to be the first company to use Samsung’s 8-nano process tech in its upcoming Snapdragon mobile chips, while Samsung’s 10nm FinFET process was previously used in the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835.

Samsung Electronics is a force to be reckoned with in the world of semiconductors right now, and its completion of the 8LPP “three months ahead of schedule” could be significant for the company. Samsung is now able to place greater focus on its upcoming 7nm tech, though Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) — the current semiconductor market leader — has already made a deal with Qualcomm as its supplier of the 7-nano process, which could put a roadblock on Samsung’s recent semiconductor successes.

As for when Samsung will start production on the new node, we don’t yet know, but the company is expected to provide more details on its foundry roadmap, including “8LPP availability and 7nm EUV development,” in Munich later today.