Big Breakthrough! Intel's 2nm Process Expected to Be Available in 2024
In semiconductor manufacturing, the 2 nm process is the next MOSFET (metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor) die shrink after the 3 nm process node.
According to the Taiwan Provincial Economic Daily News, Intel Senior Vice President and China Chairman Wang Rui recently told the media that Intel 20A (the industry's 2nm process) and Intel 18A (equivalent to 1.8nm process) have been taped out (tape: refers to Chips are manufactured through a series of process steps like an assembly line. In the field of integrated circuit design, "tape-out" refers to "trial production".). This is also one of Intel's goals to rapidly develop five process nodes within four years, and the information released this time has also attracted the attention of the outside world.
Intel's development of chip process technology in recent years has been amazing. It plans to start from the Intel 10 process, and gradually enter the Intel 7 and Intel 4 technology nodes in an orderly manner, and then Intel 3, Intel 20A and the latest Intel 18A process. At present, the latest technology that Intel has mass-produced is the Intel 7 process, and the Intel 18A process is expected to be in place in the second half of 2024. That is to say, now for example, the second half of September in 2024 is exactly 18 months. Intel expects to conquer several technology nodes in these 18 months. The speed of the process has shocked the market.
Intel 4 physical parameters: 2 times the density of Intel 7.
The Fin Pitch pitch of Intel 4 is reduced to 30nm, which is 88% of Intel 7's 34nm, and the Contact Gate Poly Pitch is also reduced from the original 60nm to 50nm, and the Min Metal Pitch (M0) is reduced by as much as 75%, from 40nm. The height of HP Library Height is reduced by nearly half, from the original 408h to 140h, which is only 0.59 times that of Intel 7. Therefore, Intel claims that the density of Intel 4 is twice that of Intel 7. Of course, the industry prefers to say that with the same chip performance, Intel 4 can reduce the size of the chip made by Intel 7 by half.
Since the transistor of the chip is a two-dimensional structure, the calculation method of a single unit of Intel is: HP Libnrary Height *Contact Gate Poly Pitch; according to this calculation method, the Intel 7 process is 24408nm², and the Intel 4 process is 12000nm². The paper calculation is 49% of Intel 7. Of course, there are many various circuit structures inside the chip, and not every structure can be calculated by the above formula, so the process node of Intel 4 is officially said, and the size of the same unit is 77% of that of Intel 7.
Regarding Intel Granite Rapids and Sierra Forest series processors, it is planned to use its own Intel 3 process for production, and previous news also shows that Intel 3 process can further take advantage of the advantages of FinFET and the utilization rate of EUV. Performance parameters such as chip density, area, and power consumption will be greatly improved.
According to Wang Rui, Intel's senior vice president and chairman of China, seven out of ten major customers in the world that demand wafer foundries are actively negotiating business cooperation with Intel, and wafer foundries (IFS) have also cooperated with 43 Potential customers for collaboration and wafer tapeout. Judging from Intel's current actions, it is actively expanding production capacity and improving process node technology. With the assistance of the US Chip Act, Intel is confident that it will return to the leading position in chip manufacturing in 2025.
Cover Photo Credit from HARDWARETIMES
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