On the Intel side, we learn that the company has simply cancelled its 20A etching process. The company wants to concentrate on its thinner 18A process, which is already looking promising. However, this cancellation is not without consequences for Arrow Lake!
20A cancelled, Arrow Lake produced by other foundries, but assembled by Intel!
At first glance, this may seem like bad news, but in reality it’s not. In fact, the 20A played a crucial role in the development of the 18A, because it successfully enabled the integration of new transistors, the famous RibbonFet, which we mentioned here.
In the meantime, 18A is well advanced, since it is already operational, with chips etched using this process already capable of running operating systems. As for yields, they are judged to be pretty good… Although..
However, this cancellation is not without consequences for Intel, since Arrow Lake production has had to be transferred to other foundries. These include TMSC and Samsung. However, the newcomers will participate in the production of their CPUs by assembling them in the Intel Foundry.
In the meantime, the resources from the cancelled process have been redirected to the 18A, which should continue its development in good condition. If all goes well, we can expect a launch in 2025.
