Samsung to build all-AI, no-human chip factories

Samsung Electronics is planning to fully automate its semiconductor factories by 2030, with “smart sensors” set to control the manufacturing process, according to South Korean media reports.

The world’s largest maker of memory chips aims to create an “artificial intelligence fab” that operates without human labor, the reports said. The ground-breaking project is reportedly already underway, the same reports said.

Samsung has signaled since last summer it aims to AI to optimize integrated circuit (IC) design, materials development, production, yield improvement and packaging. Identifying the cause of defects in the production process is reportedly a top priority of the AI plan.

Samsung is developing its own sensors and switching procurement from foreign to domestic suppliers to gain control of the technology and develop relevant South Korean expertise. Measuring plasma uniformity in deposition, etching and cleaning is one key application; real-time monitoring of production processes is another.

The technology will be applied both to Samsung’s DRAM and NAND flash memory operations and its contract manufacturing operations. Catching up with Taiwan’s TSMC and staying ahead of America’s Intel are of vital importance to Samsung as die-shrinks progress from 3nm now to 2nm by 2025 and 1nm late in the decade.

The finer the circuit line widths, the greater the risk of microscopic defects dragging down chip production yields. Deploying AI to keep the problem to a minimum is increasingly critical to maintaining competitiveness. A completely automated factory would also eliminate the risk and cost of human contamination.

Samsung’s new sensors are reportedly small enough to fit on existing production lines, enabling the upgrade of