The big fake news last week came from a report out of China stating that TSMC won a big Intel order for 3nm wafers. We have been talking about this for some time on SemiWiki so this is nothing new. Unfortunately, the article mentioned wafer and delivery date estimates that are unconfirmed and from what I know, completely out of line. … Read More
Highlights of the “Intel Accelerated” Roadmap Presentation
Introduction
Intel recently provided a detailed silicon process and advanced packaging technology roadmap presentation, entitled “Intel Accelerated”. The roadmap timeline extended out to 2024, with discussions of Intel client, data center, and GPU product releases, and especially, the underlying technologies to be … Read More
Intel Accelerated
Intel presented yesterday on their plans for process technology and packaging over the next several years. This was the most detailed roadmap Intel has ever laid out. In this write up I will analyze Intel’s process announcement and how they match up with their competitors.
10nm Super Fin (SF)
10nm is now in volume production in three… Read More
GloFo inside Intel? Foundry Foothold and Fixerupper- Good Synergies
Intel reportedly talking to Abu Dhabi to buy GloFo for $30B
Would jumpstart Intel Foundry but require investment & repair
Avoids IPO risk – Allows Abu Dhabi escape- NY benefits
Doesn’t impact near term shortage or market share
Reported by WSJ- Intel in talks to buy GloFo
The Wall Street Journal reported that Intel… Read More
Resist Development for High-NA EUV
The successful transition to a new fabrication process from development to high volume manufacturing requires a collective, collaborative effort among process engineers, equipment manufacturers, and especially, chemical suppliers. Of particular importance is the chemistry of the photoresist materials and their interaction… Read More
TSMC and the FinFET Era!
While there is a lot of excitement around the semiconductor shortage narrative and the fabs all being full, both 200mm and 300mm, there is one big plot hole and that is the FinFET era.
Intel ushered in the FinFET era only to lose FinFET dominance to the foundries shortly thereafter. In 2009 Intel brought out a 22nm FinFET wafer at the… Read More
Extending Moore’s Law with 3D Heterogeneous Materials Integration
A great deal has been written of late about the demise of Moore’s Law. The increase in field-effect transistor density with successive process nodes has slowed from the 2X every 2 1/2 years pace of earlier generations. The economic nature of Moore’s comments 50 years ago has also been scrutinized – the reduction in cost per transistor… Read More
Intel’s EMIB Packaging Technology – A Deep Dive
The evolution of low-cost heterogeneous multi-chip packaging (MCP) has led to significant system-level product innovations. Three classes of MCP offerings have emerged:
- wafer-level fan-out redistribution, using reconstituted wafer substrates of molding compound as the surface for interconnections between die (2D)
Foundry Fantasy- Deja Vu or IDM 2?
– Intel announced 2 new fabs & New Foundry Services
– Not only do they want to catch TSMC they want to beat them
– It’s a very, very tall order for a company that hasn’t executed
– It will require more than a makeover to get to IDM 2.0
Intel not only wants to catch TSMC but beat them at their own … Read More
Intel Takes Another Shot at the Enticing Foundry Market
Intel made a big splash on March 23, 2021 by doubling down on manufacturing with the creation of Intel Foundry Services (IFS). The big announcement was supported by potential customers such as Qualcomm, Cisco, Ericsson, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and IBM. With an accompanying $20B investment, the EDA and equipment industries,… Read More