Apple's custom silicon is expected to leap to 3nm, a next-generation manufacturing technique, later this year, but what exactly does the enhanced process mean for the company's next-generation chips? Semiconductor fabrication is the process used to make chips. The "node" of the process is, in simple terms, a measure of the smallest possible dimension used in manufacturing, measured in nanometers (nm). The node of a chip helps to determine its transistor density, as well as its cost, performance, and efficiency. The link to actual physical dimensions has become hazy in recent years as advancements have slowed and marketing has become more important, but it still broadly denotes how advanced the chip technology is. What Nodes Does Apple Use Currently? Apple…