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Initial Intel 18A Node Wafer Run Lands in Arizona Site, High-Volume Manufacturing Could Start Earlier Than Expected

AleksandarK

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Intel's 18A node, often referred to as Intel's silver lining, has just produced tangible result. In a LinkedIn post of Intel's engineering manager Pankaj Marria, we learn that Intel's 18A node is now being produced in initial wafer lots for testing and evaluation by Intel's customers. This means that Intel's 18A node PDK is officially in version 1.0, and customers are already using that PDK for testing of custom chips. "The Eagle has landed," noted the post, referring to the node development as a major milestone for a node developed and made in US. There were even posters with the same slogans being brought up, meaning that possible customers are also happy with inital test runs. With high-volume manufacturing slated for second half of 2025, we could even see 18A HVM going before initial targets.

Intel's leadership transition to CEO Lip-Bu Tan has overlapped with a recalibration of corporate messaging around the foundry business. Tan's internal communication explicitly frames Intel's strategy as a dual-track approach that maintains both product development and foundry services under unified corporate governance. This position counters speculation regarding potential foundry spinoff scenarios, though it doesn't categorically exclude future structural changes. Previous industry rumors had outlined potential joint venture configurations involving TSMC and major US semiconductor firms, including AMD, Broadcom, and NVIDIA, taking equity positions in a separate foundry entity. While such arrangements remain theoretically viable, Tan's emphasis on fab strategic importance aligns with predecessor Pat Gelsinger's manufacturing-centric vision, suggesting continuity in Intel's Foundry and Product model despite market pressure.



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Thin/well built laptops on Intel 18A CPUs to rival performance and efficiency of Apple M4, while still maintaining far superior Windows compatibility... when?
 
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How long to upgrade all Intel fabs to 18A I wonder....
 
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How do we even know what defines 18A? With 4 nm only Meteor Lake, 3 nm only Xeon 6 and 20A cancelled, 18A is really just the next node after 10 nm (7 nm was 10 nm rebrand) that was released years ago. Without transistor density of all these nodes, we have no idea how good 18A is in comparison.
 

tfp

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How do we even know what defines 18A? With 4 nm only Meteor Lake, 3 nm only Xeon 6 and 20A cancelled, 18A is really just the next node after 10 nm (7 nm was 10 nm rebrand) that was released years ago. Without transistor density of all these nodes, we have no idea how good 18A is in comparison.

The same thing that drives how TSMC defines node names, nothing/marketing.
 
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I think the biggest takeaway here is that the Arizona EUV fab is up and running. Currently all of Intel's EUV production has been done in Ireland and Oregon (which is also the research hub so less capacity available) and I believe Arizona is supposed to be effectively the 18A fab.
 
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I think the biggest takeaway here is that the Arizona EUV fab is up and running. Currently all of Intel's EUV production has been done in Ireland and Oregon (which is also the research hub so less capacity available) and I believe Arizona is supposed to be effectively the 18A fab.

This. 18A is out of development and producing wafers in a production factory.
 
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So 14A high NA in the same fab or you have to start a new factory from scratch.

Depends. Do you have unused space in an existing fab? You remodel that.

But high NA is so far out in time, once it gets out of Oregon it may go into one of the new fabs in Ohio - there are no production ready high NA scanners yet, they are prototypes.

High NA will be in very limited use for a long time, just on a metal layer or two.
 
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So 14A high NA in the same fab or you have to start a new factory from scratch.
Right now the only installed High-NA machines are in Oregon (there are two of them) and they could probably do the volume required for the High-NA layers in 14A in initial products. I don't think ASML has announced a timeline for the EXE:5200 (this is the commercial High-NA machine) though Intel does have the initial orders for those. The construction problem with the High-NA machines is that they require a larger building than the standard EUV machines which means most existing fabs cannot just install them even if not many are needed. Intel's revamped D1X which opened 2-3 years ago now was the only Intel fab that can support the machines, but it's a fair bet any new construction will be designed to be capable of fielding them. While they haven't said specifically that the Arizona fabs are capable of having them installed these were both after D1X so it seems like it should be a safe bet that at minimum Fab 62 will if not 52 as well.
 
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Why Apple? PPL & Corps buy Intel based laptops for Windows. Full stop.
ARM via qualcomm has actually been chipping away at that idea surprisingly well.
 
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How do we even know what defines 18A? With 4 nm only Meteor Lake, 3 nm only Xeon 6 and 20A cancelled, 18A is really just the next node after 10 nm (7 nm was 10 nm rebrand) that was released years ago. Without transistor density of all these nodes, we have no idea how good 18A is in comparison.
Just to correct the misinformation you’ve sprinkled in en-passant, 10nm SuperFin, the process node of Tiger Lake, is not the same as 10nm Enhanced SuperFin (10nm ESF), which has indeed been renamed—before any products built on it have ever been released!—to Intel 7. … Its Alder Lake’s node.
Like, you should be familiar with how qualifiers or even single-letter changes of product names can be quite significant in this tech world we live in. There’s no reason to fault Intel for that, there was a legit improvement in performance from one to the other.
 
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ARM via qualcomm has actually been chipping away at that idea surprisingly well.
Maybe so, still, this has nothing to do with Apple. Even the other Arm semi design houses will be making Windows PC.
I suppose, if you make your comparison to a Windows on Arm PC - then performance & perf/watt would matter.
 
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