When the R&D department has completed the development of a new product, should the manufacturing department follow suit? Or when you find room for improvement, continue to challenge and make better products? In the microscopic world of semiconductors, the nanometer scale, which is hundreds of times smaller than bacteria, affects chip performance and power consumption. How to continue to make breakthroughs in the face of process limits? Or play it safe? For Academician Qin Yongpei, who has been responsible for TSMC's operations for nearly 40 years, the answer is simple: "pursue the ultimate."
Qin Yongpei, executive deputy general manager and co-chief operating officer of TSMC, has long led TSMC’s operations and advanced process development. (Provided by TSMC) As one of the "founding fathers" of TSMC, Chin is responsible for product yield analysis, fab management, advanced and special process development, and global manufacturing operations. It is his ultimate pursuit of process technology and yield that lights up TSMC's dazzling light in world chip manufacturing.
After graduating from the Institute of Electrical Engineering of National Cheng Kung University, Qin Yongpei joined the then Institute of Electronics of ITRI in 1982 and became an engineer for the "Submicron Project". "This is the first process technology that TSMC started with. All project members have the opportunity to choose to participate in this new company." TSMC was established in 1987, pioneering the wafer foundry model. Qin Yongpei admitted that he was just a grassroots engineer at the time and had no specific concept of complex business models or industry prospects. “I heard that the founder Zhang Zhongmou was a legendary figure with great vision, and I intuitively followed such a powerful leader. There should be a lot of room for development in the future,” so he, who had just gotten married and had a child, bravely stepped out of his comfort zone and embarked on an unknown journey.
The management philosophy of tracing and mastering
In 1997, Qin Yongpei took over as the director of TSMC's wafer factory No. 1. He actively implemented data management and used the method of analyzing product data and finding the true cause in production line optimization. He asked the team to peel off the cocoons from the complicated production records and review and improve each item. As expected, the yield rate and output have improved significantly. Originally, the monthly output of 20,000 pieces was the limit, and later it was increased to 23,000 pieces, which was like a completely different person. "There are no shortcuts in the process of semiconductor process debugging. You just need to have the spirit of getting to the bottom of things to find out the root causes that affect the yield." Qin Yongpei concluded.
This experience verified Qin Yongpei's management philosophy of "finding the root cause" and continuously "following up" (tracking and mastering). It also profoundly affected TSMC's corporate culture and was internalized into the actions of engineers.
Qin Yongpei recalled that when the second wafer fab was established, the yield rate of the first batch of wafers actually dropped to zero. In an era when computers were not powerful enough and data was not digitized, engineers patiently manually compared the machine records one by one to find out the missed key steps and successfully resolved the mass production crisis; In the 0.5 micron era when there were no advanced analysis tools, in order to find out the problem, "One of our female engineers used patience and perseverance to peel off the wafer layer by layer under the microscope. It took 3 or 4 days to catch the lesions, and the product was successfully produced."
Challenging the Limits and Starting the 4nm Key Process
Since its establishment, TSMC has continued to advance manufacturing processes. Qin Yongpei has led the operations team to evolve from 28nm planar transistors and 16nm FinFET 3D transistors to 3nm and 2nm processes, bringing a more exciting and convenient digital life to mankind. However, as the manufacturing process approaches the physical limit, the evolution from 5 nanometers to 4 nanometers is the most challenging and also impressed Qin Yongpei.
"When the R&D side finally reduced the metal pitch of the 5nm process to the limit of 76nm, the operation side further proposed the idea of "optical shrinkage" in the hope of creating greater benefits." Qin Yongpei boldly challenged the impossible task and led the team to successfully achieve the 74.5nm pitch. This tiny 1.5nm gap not only breaks the physical limit, but also enables TSMC to launch a highly competitive 4nm process system. The 4nm process is now one of TSMC’s main profit drivers and is also the key process used by the most AI chips in the world.
"This work culture of never giving up and endlessly pursuing the true cause is the real key for TSMC to achieve technological leadership and excellence in manufacturing in the field of semiconductor manufacturing." said Qin Yongpei.
Seamless integration of R&D and manufacturing, explosive growth in mass production
The AI wave is sweeping the world, and the demand for high-performance chips is skyrocketing. TSMC’s AI chip market share exceeds 70%. The speed of mass production and the ability to expand production capacity are crucial to the popularization of AI applications around the world. This is the unique skill of Qin Yongpei, the “veteran factory director”.
As early as 28nm, Qin Yongpei promoted the "One Team" mechanism, allowing the operation team to participate in R&D in advance, and through close cooperation between R&D and operations, rapid and stable process technology was achieved. Coupled with the original Mother Fab and Production Fab models, after most problems were solved at the Mother Fab stage, the successful experience was quickly passed on to the mass production plant.
"Before 28nm, it took about a year for a new process to go into production and reach 30,000 wafers per month; now, from the start of mass production, it can reach 60,000 wafers in 4 months. Taking the most advanced 2nm as an example, it only takes less than 9 months from the time the machine comes in until the first wafer of the customer's product reaches the yield standard," Qin Yongpei said.
In addition, TSMC's "GIGAFAB® ultra-large wafer fab" architecture is a secret weapon that allows for ultra-large production scale and production flexibility. Under the same manufacturing platform, machines can back up each other across factories, and use AI to identify subtle differences between machines, accelerate the learning curve, and achieve consistent quality and reliability. “Now, the latest ‘Super GIGAFAB®’ can quickly adjust the optimal production capacity according to market demand.”
From manually comparing machine data and looking for flaws under a microscope in the 1990s to now using AI to debug, optimize parameters, and allocate production capacity, it is Chin and his team’s decades of accumulation that have contributed to the popularization of AI technology. TSMC has also benefited from the development of AI, with its operations booming and the world shining brightly.
Not only do you win, but you also drive Taiwan’s semiconductor fleet worth 2.45 trillion yuan.
TSMC is regarded as the "sacred mountain that protects the country" in Taiwan. It not only has superior technology and peak profits, but also includes concrete actions to achieve mutual benefit and common prosperity with Taiwan's supply chain, Taiwan's industry, and the environment.
Qin Yongpei's leadership of the "local procurement plan of raw materials and equipment spare parts from Taiwan" is the best example of leading the industry forward. Qin Yongpei explained that because TSMC has increasingly stringent requirements for materials and chemicals, if key materials are completely dependent on imports, it may increase production interruption and scheduling risks. For many years, TSMC has supported local materials and chemical suppliers in product verification and technology upgrades. In terms of equipment and spare parts, it has also invited major international equipment manufacturers to set up R&D, production and training centers in Taiwan to help local spare parts manufacturers grow.
Qin Yongpei believes that local procurement not only improves operational resilience, but also reduces carbon footprint. For example, through the efforts of him and his team, TSMC’s localization ratio of raw materials has increased from 41% in 2012 to 66% in 2025. It will drive the overall industry output value up to 2.45 trillion yuan and 350,000 job opportunities, achieving a win-win situation for TSMC, suppliers and Taiwan’s economy.
Along with the large-scale construction of factories, TSMC has used smart technology to improve safety management, organized a "Construction Safety and Skills Training Center" to deepen the professional capabilities and safety awareness of contractors; pioneered the reuse system for recycled water in the semiconductor process, built a "zero-waste manufacturing center", and cooperated with the Ministry of Environment on carbon capture demonstration sites, and even allocated budgets to support suppliers in updating environmental protection facilities to expand positive influence and help Taiwan's environmental sustainability.
Flip OEM manufacturing and spread the TSMC effect to the industrial society
With its ultimate pursuit of professional technology, TSMC has completely overturned the world's traditional understanding of "OEM" and "manufacturing", leaping into a key role in the AI era, and spreading its core values of integrity, commitment, innovation, and customer trust to Taiwan's industry and society.
President Lai Ching-te presented the 15th ITRI's new academician certificate to TSMC Executive Vice President and Co-Chief Operating Officer Chin Yong-pei (right). (Provided by Realtek Semiconductor) Qin Yongpei is an important promoter of spreading the "TSMC Effect". From yield rate to production capacity, he leads the team to be the strongest backer for the explosive growth of global AI. From local procurement to construction quality, he drives the supply chain and contractors to establish international competitiveness with strict requirements. From energy resource recycling to carbon capture technology, he practices net-zero waste reduction and sets a benchmark for industry sustainability.
"Pursuing the root cause and achieving the ultimate goal" is Qin Yongpei's belief that has remained unchanged throughout his decades of career. He also encourages the younger generation to develop solid basic skills and perfect their profession. "Good opportunities and stages will naturally come to you."
This article is reprinted with permission from "Industrial Technology and Information Monthly"
