Intel is now executing its goals for the successful development of five nodes over four years in an accelerated timeline leading to measurement in Angstrom, dubbed “Intel Accelerated” by some. Scotten Jones, president and owner of the semiconductor consulting firm IC Knowledge, was first suspicious of the aggressive semiconductor timeline, but a recent investor gathering appears to have changed his mind.
This week, Jones wrote an article for SemiWiki expressing his belief in Intel’s aspirations to reclaim its technological superiority by 2025. Jones used to advise investing firms that Intel would never be able to catch up to TSMC. Recent events and revised roadmaps, however, have swayed his opinion.
Intel is riding on the ambitions of its new CEO
Intel has received a huge dose of ambition under the leadership of Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger. While it is simple to talk a good game, delivering is a another story. Intel created a PowerPoint deck to commemorate the opening of its $3 billion D1X Mod3 fab expansion in Oregon. Jones noticed a slight modification to the roadmap on page five of the deck. Intel has quietly but confidently moved the most sophisticated 18A process from 2025 to 2024 on its roadmap.
Jones digs back a few years in his study of Intel’s ambitions to construct a picture of how Intel ended itself in this situation — losing its technological and process supremacy. According to Jones, there will be various sticky patches for all three firms as they make substantial adjustments over the next few years in a three-horse competition between Intel, TSMC, and Samsung. These significant adjustments may have a negative influence on the roadmap, but they are necessary for gaining a competitive advantage.
Intel plans to increase the utilisation of EUV devices from 2022 to 2025. It will also begin introducing Horizontal Nanosheet (HNS) technology and will debut it with RibbonFET. PowerVia, a technology that improves the power delivery, is also on the way. While this is going on, Intel is ticking away at 18A.
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