Pat Gelsinger -- News -- November 6, 2024

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Tag: INTC, Intel, 18A

Times of India. Link here.

Reuters. Link here.

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Intel's 18A fabrication technology is on track for a 2025 launch, with high-volume production scheduled to begin in the second half of that year. Here's some more information about the status of Intel 18A: 

• Yield

  Intel says its 18A fabrication technologies are producing good-quality chips. However, some industry experts are concerned about Intel's ability to achieve good yields, which could put the company at a disadvantage to competitors like TSMC. 
• Products

  Intel's first two 18A products, the Panther Lake AI PC client processor and the Clearwater Forest server processor, have powered on and booted operating systems. 
• Customers

  Intel has secured AWS as a customer for its 18A process. 
• PDK

  Intel released its 18A Process Design Kit (PDK) 1.0 in July 2024, which allowed partners to update their tools and design flows. 
• Roadmap

  Intel 18A is one of the final nodes in the company's "5 Nodes in 4 Years" roadmap. It's the first node to include Intel's PowerVia power delivery system and RibbonFET gate-all-around transistor architecture.

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From September 9, 2024:

Link here.

Disappointing financial results. A 15% layoff of its workforce. Restructuring and cost-reduction plans which may include the sale of FPGA unit Altera and freezing its USD 32 billion German fab project. Now, there seems to be more bad news on the way for Intel, as its advanced nodes, specifically 18A and 20A, reportedly run into trouble.

Broadcom Regards 18A Not Ready for High-volume Production

According to Reuters and The Verge, Broadcom’s initial tests with Intel’s 18A (1.8nm-class) process did not meet expectations, creating additional pressure on the semiconductor giant’s efforts to catch up with TSMC in the foundry sector. The reports note that Broadcom tested Intel’s 18A by producing wafers with typical design patterns. However, its engineers and executives were said to be disappointed with the results, regarding the process as “not ready for high-volume production.”

A Broadcom spokesperson informed Reuters that the company has not yet completed its evaluation of Intel’s 18A, indicating that the assessment is still in progress.

The 18A node plays a crucial role in Intel’s roadmap, as it has been working on the process for years, targeting to begin mass production next year, with major clients including Microsoft, according to the Verge.

However, another report from Tom’s Hardware also suggests that a defect density below 0.5 defects per square centimeter is typically seen as a positive outcome, which Intel may have already accomplished. Citing CEO Pat Gelsinger’s previous remarks, the report notes that Intel is now below 0.4 d0 defect density, which can be considered a healthy process.

20 A Cancelled: Not a Bad Idea for Cost-reduction?

Another latest bad news, though, is that Intel announced that it will no longer use its own 20A process for the upcoming Arrow Lake processors aimed at the consumer market. In its own words, the Arrow Lake processor family will be built primarily using external partners and packaged by Intel Foundry.

The unexpected move, according to Intel, is made in order to focus resources on Intel 18A, helping the company to optimize its engineering investments.