In Xing Ye’s movie “Kung Fu”, the evil god of fire cloud said a ruthless classic, “All martial arts in the world are invincible, only fast can not be broken”, no matter how powerful kung fu is, you will be defeated, but if the speed is too fast, no one can beat you. , This sentence is also very applicable to the current Intel. It took them 6 years to upgrade the 14nm node in the past, but in the 4 years from 2021 to 2025, they will launch the 5th generation CPU process.
At the recent TechTour event in Haifa, Israel, Intel also talked about the CPU development cycle, specifically mentioning the change from the 12th generation Core Alder Lake to the 13th generation Core Raptor Lake, which used to take at least 3 years to develop a generation of CPUs, but the 13th generation Core has greatly reduced the time and only took about 2 years to complete.
Some people are sure to say that the 13th generation Core architecture and process has not changed, which is an improved version of the 12th generation Core, but for a big company like Intel, even if the architecture has not changed significantly, the previous development cycle is such that it needs to be completed in a step-by-step manner.
At present, the 12th and 13th generations of Core or Intel 7 process, according to Intel’s planning, they want to launch 5 generations of CPU process in 4 years, followed by Intel 4, Intel 3 and Intel 20A, 18A, the first two generations will use EUV process, 20A began to enter the Emi level node, give up FinFET transistors and use GAA transistors instead This is equivalent to the 2nm, 1.8nm level of the Friends.
Intel will also debut two breakthrough technologies on 20A and 18A, namely RibbonFET and PowerVia, where RibbonFET is Intel’s implementation of Gate All Around transistors, which will become the company’s first new transistor architecture since it was the first to launch FinFET in 2011.
The technology speeds up transistor switching while achieving the same drive current as a multi-fin architecture, but in a smaller footprint.
PowerVia is Intel’s unique, industry-first backside power delivery network that optimizes signal delivery by eliminating the need for front-side wafer power wiring.
Intel CEO Kissinger previously revealed at the earnings meeting, that Intel 3 and 20A, 18A three processes are progressing well, not only not delayed, and even ahead of mass production, of which 18A was originally scheduled for the first half of 2025, will now be advanced to the second half of 2024, the year 20A, 18A process will be mass production.
2025 is also a key point for Intel to achieve 4 years of mass production of 5 generations of processes, which is also the basis for Intel’s determination to return to the semiconductor process leader, 20A and 18A process is expected to surpass TSMC, Samsung’s 2nm and subsequent processes.
