Latest progress! Intel 18A product is successfully lit up!
The Intel 18A chip is now powered on and running, and the operating system is successfully started.
It will be used in the next generation of client and server products to be launched next year.
The external customer products will be taped out in the first half of next year.
Intel announced that the first products built on the Intel 18A process node - AI PC client processor Panther Lake and server processor Clearwater Forest, their samples have now been shipped, powered on and successfully started the operating system. Less than two quarters away from tape-out, Intel has made another breakthrough. Currently, both Panther Lake and Clearwater Forest are progressing smoothly and are expected to start mass production in 2025. In addition, Intel also announced that the first external customer using Intel 18A is expected to complete tape-out in the first half of next year.
In the AI era, we are advancing a number of cutting-edge system-level foundry technologies to provide Intel product groups and our foundry customers with full-stack innovations that are critical to next-generation products. We are encouraged by the progress made with Intel 18A and are working closely with customers with the goal of bringing Intel 18A to market in 2025.
—— Kevin O’Buckley
Senior Vice President and General Manager of Foundry Services, Intel Corporation
Last month, Intel released the 1.0 version of the Intel 18A PDK (Process Design Kit), which enables foundry customers to take advantage of the RibbonFET all-around gate transistor architecture and PowerVia backside power supply technology in chip designs based on Intel 18A. EDA and IP partners are improving support for Intel 18A so that their customers can design new products.
These developments show that Intel Foundry has taken the lead in combining RibbonFET all-around gate transistors and PowerVia backside power supply technology on a process node open to customers. With the help of EDA and IP tools and process flows provided by the ecosystem, these two groundbreaking innovations, RibbonFET and PowerVia, will be available to foundry customers through Intel 18A. With its resilient, more sustainable and reliable manufacturing capabilities and supply chain, as well as industry-leading advanced packaging technology, Intel Foundry has integrated the elements needed to design and manufacture the next generation of larger and more efficient AI solutions.
在没有额外配置或修改的情况下,Panther Lake和Clearwater Forest能够顺利启动操作系统,清楚地表明了Intel 18A的良好状况——英特尔预计将于2025年通过这一先进制程技术重获制程领先性。Panther Lake的DDR内存性能已达到目标频率,同样体现了Intel 18A的顺利进展。将于明年首次大规模生产的Clearwater Forest,提供了未来CPU和AI芯片的设计蓝图,结合了RibbonFET全环绕栅极晶体管、PowerVia背面供电和Foveros Direct 3D先进封装技术的高性能解决方案,以实现更高密度和功率处理能力。Clearwater Forest也将是采用Intel 3-T base-die技术的首款产品。依托英特尔代工的系统级代工能力,Panther Lake和Clearwater Forest有望在每瓦性能、晶体管密度和单元利用率方面实现显著提升。
Intel's EDA and IP partners have been given access to the Intel 18A PDK 1.0 version in July and are updating their tools and design flows so that external foundry customers can start designing chips based on Intel 18A. This is a key milestone for Intel's foundry business.
The strategic collaboration between Cadence and Intel Foundry helps our mutual customers accelerate innovation by providing industry-leading EDA and IP optimized for Intel 18A. The latest progress of Intel 18A is encouraging, and we are pleased to support our customers on advanced designs based on Intel 18A.
——Tom Beckley
Cadence Senior Vice President and
General Manager of Custom IC and PCB Division
"We are pleased to see Intel Foundry reach a key milestone. Intel Foundry is ready to deliver Intel 18A process nodes to customers and is bringing together the elements needed to design next-generation AI solutions, which is what our mutual customers need and expect. As a bridge between chip design companies and foundries, Synopsys plays an important role in the global foundry industry, and we are honored to work with Intel Foundry to provide Synopsys' leading EDA and IP solutions for Intel's advanced process nodes."
——Shankar Krishnamoorthy
General Manager, Synopsys EDA Division
The RibbonFET all-around gate transistor architecture and PowerVia back-side power supply technology are two core technologies of Intel 18A, which will help further miniaturize the processor and continuously improve its energy efficiency, which is exactly what is needed to promote the development of AI computing. RibbonFET can strictly control the current in the transistor channel, which will help further miniaturize chip components and reduce leakage, which becomes very important as chip density continues to increase. PowerVia optimizes signal routing by moving the power line to the back of the wafer, thereby reducing resistance and improving energy efficiency. The powerful combination of RibbonFET and PowerVia is expected to significantly improve the computing performance and battery life of future electronic devices. Intel is the first to bring a process node that combines a all-around gate transistor architecture and back-side power supply technology to market, which will benefit foundry customers around the world.
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