Intel to reveal its roadmap beyond the 18A (1.8nm) process node in a few weeks — the company will share its post-5N4Y plans during February event

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(Image credit: SIA)

Along with introducing its IDM 2.0 paradigm in 2021, which involves using both internal and external production capacities, Intel also outlined its impressive plan for 'five nodes in four years,' now dubbed '5N4Y.' The culmination of that impressive project is supposed to be the company's 18A (1.8nm-class) technology, which is scheduled to become production-ready in "early 2025." Little is known about the company's plans beyond 18A, but now it says it will reveal its new roadmap in February. 

Intel plans to host its IFS Direct Connect event on February 21, where Intel Foundry Services will discuss its roadmap beyond 5N4Y. Featured speakers at the event are Pat Gelsinger, Chief Executive of Intel; Stu Pann, General Manager of IFS; Keyvan Esfarjani, General Manager of Intel's Supply Chain and Operations, as well as Ann Kelleher, Executive Vice President responsible for Process Technology Development at Intel.

If you're interested in the process technologies that are set to come after 18A, Ann Kelleher's presentation is the one to watch. What to expect from Intel beyond 18A is up in the air, but we expect the company to continue building on its latest innovations. Intel's 20A introduces RibbonFET gate-all-around (GAA) transistors and PowerVia backside power delivery network (BSPDN), and 18A refines both technologies. At the recent IEDM event, the company outlined a further evolution of BSPDN, so expect one of Intel's process technologies after 18A to use this feature. GAA will obviously evolve as well, so we expect Intel to innovate in this realm, too.

Meanwhile, the disparity in the requirements of chips for different applications necessitates Intel to specialize in various process technologies, something that Intel does already. For example, Intel 3 offered a denser high-performance library and increased drive current, which is just what the doctor ordered for data center-class processors. Whether this approach will be extended and Intel will offer other specialized nodes remains open to question.

Intel describes the IFS Direct event as follows:

"Hear from Intel leaders, technologists, and partners as they share details of our strategy, process technology, advanced packaging, and ecosystem. Learn how Intel Foundry Services can help you build your silicon designs leveraging Intel’s resilient, security, and sustainably oriented, source of supply." 

The career profiles of the event speakers indicate that Intel plans to disclose both the technical and executive directions of Intel and IFS. However, the nature of the event implies that its focus will be squarely on Intel Foundry Services operations.

Anton Shilov
Contributing Writer

Anton Shilov is a contributing writer at Tom’s Hardware. Over the past couple of decades, he has covered everything from CPUs and GPUs to supercomputers and from modern process technologies and latest fab tools to high-tech industry trends.

TOPICS
  • bit_user
    What to expect from Intel beyond 18A is up in the air ...
    I'd wager some form of CFET transistors will factor into their announcements:
    https://www.tomshardware.com/news/intel-and-tsmc-to-report-on-next-gen-cfet-transistor-progress
    For anyone who hasn't already picked up on this, the semiconductor industry is broadly following a roadmap set forth by IMEC. If you want the big picture view of where things are headed, look to what they're saying:
    https://www.tomshardware.com/news/imec-reveals-sub-1nm-transistor-roadmap-3d-stacked-cmos-20-plans
    Reply
  • Tom Sunday
    The INTEL stock has shown some very good results or comeback lately! Internationally: Their Magdeburg plants (2) in East Germany (formerly the DDR) has garnered them as of late much increased subsidies or seed monies than originally expected. Intel is now set to receive almost US$11 billion instead of the €6.8 billion (US$7.2 billion) in government aid. Then later this year for our enthusiasts here we will have their 15th generation of CPU’s (Arrow Lake) breaking loose. It’s always good to see an all American company doing well!
    Reply
  • bit_user
    Tom Sunday said:
    Internationally: Their Magdeburg plants (2) in East Germany ... It’s always good to see an all American company doing well!
    Or, in other words, not quite "all American". Very much "multinational", I'd say.
    Reply
  • ottonis
    Intel keeps keeping the press busy with plenty of plans and visions, e.g. the 1.8 nm process and so on and so forth, but the market is yet to see commercially available Intel chips fabbed on a smaller than a SuperFin 10 nm process.
    Intel's first 10nm process was first introduced with the CannonLake CPUs (2018) and later refined as SuperFin 10 nm and renamed to "Intel 7".
    Reply
  • bit_user
    ottonis said:
    Intel keeps keeping the press busy with plenty of plans and visions, e.g. the 1.8 nm process and so on and so forth, but the market is yet to see commercially available Intel chips fabbed on a smaller than a SuperFin 10 nm process.
    Meteor Lake is made on what they used to call their 7 nm node. It's EUV, as opposed to "Intel 7", which is still DUV + multipatterning.

    ottonis said:
    later refined as SuperFin 10 nm and renamed to "Intel 7".
    What they renamed to "Intel 7" is the node they called "10 nm Enhanced Super Fin". Tiger Lake was made on the original 10 nm SF, and that node wasn't renamed.
    Reply
  • Giroro
    Is Intel itself actually reffereing to 18A as "1.8 nm class"? Or is this just a case of taking the bait and running with the assumptions built into their cynical naming scheme?
    Reply
  • thestryker
    At this point I wish the pretense of "nm" with regards to process nodes would just be dropped. Smaller number = better core node is basically what they've all shifted to. There are also more modifications to nodes than ever before muddying the waters even further.

    I look forward to seeing what Ann Kelleher has to say as she is always interesting. The last interview I saw there wasn't a whole lot about the more advanced nodes she could say so this should deliver.
    Reply
  • JamesJones44
    Giroro said:
    Is Intel itself actually reffereing to 18A as "1.8 nm class"? Or is this just a case of taking the bait and running with the assumptions built into their cynical naming scheme?
    All of them are "cynical naming scheme"s. TSMCs 4nm isn't 4nm for example. Everything you see from Samsung, TSMC, Intel, etc. is marketing names, not actual transistor size. The advertised nm measurement equaling the actual size of a transistor went obsolete decades ago.
    Reply
  • bit_user
    JamesJones44 said:
    All of them are "cynical naming scheme"s. TSMCs 4nm isn't 4nm for example. Everything you see from Samsung, TSMC, Intel, etc. is marketing names, not actual transistor size.
    I think Intel used to claim that its node was the fin pitch of the Fin FET transistor - the smallest feature they contained. What's interesting about that is the fins weren't made that size by lithography, but by a chemical etching technique which eroded them down to that size.
    Reply
  • JamesJones44
    bit_user said:
    I think Intel used to claim that its node was the fin pitch of the Fin FET transistor - the smallest feature they contained. What's interesting about that is the fins weren't made that size by lithography, but by a chemical etching technique which eroded them down to that size.
    I believe they did as well. I've read at one time Intel's advertised size (45 nm for example) was actually larger than their smallest feature, but they wanted to pad there numbers just in case they ran into issues with the next node and could say they did a small shrink even though it was actually the same node process. I don't know how true those rumors are, but I thought it was interesting that Intel at one time my have actually be fudging the numbers in the other direction and claimed to be larger than they were.
    Reply