Apple's M5 Chip Goes into Mass Production: AI Performance Way Ahead
Great news for Apple lovers and technology followers. The next generation of Apple Silicon, the highly anticipated M5 chip, has officially gone into mass production. This marks a huge stride further into Apple's silicon journey. It promises great performance and efficiency from the upcoming Macs and iPads.
Inside M5: Better Tuned for AI
Not just raw speed, the M5 has been designed with a keen eye on the up-and-coming field of AI. Sources say Apple has integrated state-of-the-art process technologies to give the chip a considerable boost in AI. We can expect much better performance with machine learning tasks and on-device AI processing. Even smarter applications across the board for the entire Apple ecosystem are anticipated.
Production is led by TSMC, a long-time chip-manufacturing partner of Apple. Packing, an essential process step in chip manufacturing, has been placed with three firms: ASE of Taiwan, US-based Amkor, and China's JCET. Initial mass production is said to be led by ASE, while Amkor and JCET will follow.
Process and Packaging Innovations
TSMC's Advanced N3P Process
The M5 chip leverages TSMC's 3nm class N3P process. This improved node brings sizeable gains compared to the prior generation. A presumed 5-10% enhancement in power efficiency and a 5% higher performance compared to the M4 chip are expected. Users will experience extended battery life and snappy performance for everyday activities.
Vertical Stacking with SoIC-MH
For the higher-performance variants of M5 Pro, Max, and Ultra, it is believed Apple will employ TSMC's SoIC-MH packaging technology. It is a relatively advanced process that vertically stacks semiconductor chips into a more powerful and dense chip package. This vertical stacking is for better thermal management and to make further gains in performance in these high-end M5 variants.
State-of-the-Art Manufacturing Processes
Hybrid Bonding and Femtosecond Lasers
It also reveals two interesting manufacturing technologies being employed for the M5. Hybrid bonding, using kit from Dutch firm Besy - almost certainly ASML-owned Besi - is claimed to be employed for direct copper-to-copper interconnects for vertically-stacked chips. Meanwhile femtosecond laser technology, provided by Iotceanix, is employed for chip dicing. The extreme precision of the laser drastically reduces the damage and contamination typically found in the dicing process. This results in better quality and more chips.
Next-Gen ABF Substrates
Even the substrate material gets a refresh. Ajinomoto, the sole supplier of ABF- or Ajinomoto Buildup Film- will be supplying a next-generation ABF for the substrates of the M5 chips. This next generation ABF is thinner, allowing closer stacking of the circuit layers. This enables even greater performance inside the same footprint of the chip.
Looking Ahead
Sources expect the manufacturing of the M5s to ramp up more smoothly. That chip should then power some upcoming Apple hardware, possibly beginning with the next-generation iPad Pros. With a key focus on enhancing AI capabilities while using the advanced manufacturing node, the M5 chip means Apple keeps driving ahead in terms of performance and innovation.
Manufacturing of substrates for the M5 is managed by Taiwan-based Unimicron and by Samsung Electro-Mechanics. They continue to receive investments in view of mass production schedules.
