Intel has successfully secured a higher-than-expected yield for its Intel 4 process, the company’s VP told TheElec.
William Grimm, Vice President and Director of Product Engineering for Logic Technology and Development at Intel, said in an interview with TheElec at Penang, Malaysia, that the chip giant was able to control the complicated process of Intel 4 through extreme ultraviolet (EUV).
Intel 4, which is considered to be a 7-nanometer (nm) class process, is the US chip giant’s first to be made with EUV applied. EUV is the latest lithography process used by logic chip makers to make the most advanced chips.
Intel Meteor Lake to be unveiled next month will be made with Intel 4.
Chip consultant IC Knowledge had said Intel had greater performance than TSMC’s 5nm process and was closer to the 3nm processes of TSMC and Samsung.
Grimm said Intel took note of benchmark tests done by third parties and performed its own PPA, adding that it was difficult to compare Intel 4 with previous nodes of other chip foundry companies.
Intel however has previously voiced its opposition to process names in the industry, saying they don’t reflect the actual length of transistors.
Meanwhile, Grimm also said that its Intel 4 node focused on power efficiency. Intel 7’s focus was on maximizing performance, while for Intel 4 the chip giant turned its attention to power efficiency. Chips made with Intel 4 were optimal for notebook applications, the VP added.
Intel 3, the company’s 4nm class node, will be unveiled later this year.
