The Intel 18A chip is now powered on and has successfully started the operating system. It will be used in the next generation of client and server products to be launched next year. External customer products will be completed 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.
Kevin O’Buckley, Intel senior vice president and general manager of foundry services, said: “For 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.”
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 breakthrough innovative technologies, RibbonFET and PowerVia, will be available to foundry customers through Intel 18A. With its resilient, more sustainable and more reliable manufacturing capabilities and supply chain, as well as industry-leading advanced packaging technology, Intel Foundry integrates the elements needed to design and manufacture the next generation of larger and more efficient AI solutions.
Without additional configuration or modification, Panther Lake and Clearwater Forest can successfully boot the operating system, which clearly shows the good condition of Intel 18A – Intel expects to regain process leadership through this advanced process technology in 2025. Panther Lake’s DDR memory performance has reached the target frequency, which also reflects the smooth progress of Intel 18A. Clearwater Forest, which will be mass-produced for the first time next year, provides a design blueprint for future CPU and AI chips , combining RibbonFET all-around gate transistors, PowerVia back power supply and Foveros Direct 3D advanced packaging technology for high-performance solutions to achieve higher density and power handling capabilities. Clearwater Forest will also be the first product to use Intel 3-T base-die technology. Relying on Intel’s foundry system-level foundry capabilities, Panther Lake and Clearwater Forest are expected to achieve significant improvements in performance per watt, transistor density and unit utilization.
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.
“Cadence’s strategic collaboration with Intel Foundry helps our mutual customers accelerate innovation by providing industry-leading EDA and Intel 18A-optimized IP,” said Tom Beckley, senior vice president and general manager of the Custom IC and PCB Group at Cadence . “We are excited to support our customers on their advanced designs based on Intel 18A, as we are excited to see the latest progress on Intel 18A.”
“We are pleased to see Intel Foundry reach this critical milestone,” said Shankar Krishnamoorthy, general manager of Synopsys’ EDA business unit . “Intel Foundry is ready to deliver Intel’s 18A process node to our customers and is bringing together the elements needed to design the next generation of AI solutions that our mutual customers need and expect. Synopsys plays an important role in the global foundry industry as a bridge between chip design companies and foundries , and we are honored to work with Intel Foundry to deliver Synopsys’ leading EDA and IP solutions for Intel’s advanced process nodes.”
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 the 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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