Intel reportedly postpones its production of Meteor Lake CPUs using TSMC’s 3nm technology

According to a report from TrendForce Research, ntel has decided to push out the mass production of its Meteor Lake GPU tile using TSMC's 3nm-class technology (N3, N3E, etc.) until…

By Nivedita Bangari

August 5, 2022

2 min read

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According to a report from TrendForce Research, ntel has decided to push out the mass production of its Meteor Lake GPU tile using TSMC’s 3nm-class technology (N3, N3E, etc.) until late 2023. According to TSMC, the delay has had an impact on its investments in raising its N3-capable production capacity.

Initial chips were scheduled to be produced in early 2023, while Apple and Intel were anticipated to be the first businesses to use TSMC’s N3 production node in the second half of 2022. However, it was anticipated that Intel’s first N3 product would be a GPU tile for its 14th Generation Core ‘Meteor Lake’ processors, which are scheduled to launch in the fall of 2023. The beginning of its GPU tile high volume manufacture was thus delayed to the first half of 2023, and it was most recently postponed even longer into 2023, according to TrendForce.

We can infer from Intel’s updated timeframe that the business may have chosen to forego TSMC’s N3 fabrication method in favour of N3E manufacturing technology. In exchange for a slightly lower transistor density, N3E promises an enhanced process window and maybe higher yields. Although we do not know for sure, it might make sense for Intel.

Intel reiterated comments made by CEO Pat Gelsinger at the company’s Q2 2022 earnings call, reiterating the Meteor Lake launch date of 2023: We will launch our first disaggregated CPU in 2023, which is based on Intel’s fourth generation, Meteor Lake, which is performing well in both our labs and those of our clients.

The foundry was forced to modify its N3-capable capacity growth, which had an impact on its CapEx in 2022 and 2023 because Intel apparently changed its 2023 outsourcing plan and informed TSMC about it.

While Intel changed its intentions for N3, other significant TSMC customers will continue to utilise the company’s 3nm-class nodes in accordance with their roadmap. In 2H 2022 to early 2023, Apple is anticipated to be the N3 node’s first and sole user. The N3E and N3P fabrication techniques from TSMC are expected to be used by businesses like AMD, MediaTek, and Qualcomm in 2024. As a result, TSMC will still need to make significant investments in order to increase its ability to produce N3 in the years 2022 to 2023.