Joseph Bonetti is one of Intel’s engineers who defend that this company is about to be competitive again in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. This statement of yours a few days ago expresses your vision very well: “Intel leaders, Board of Directors of Intel and Donald Trump administration, please, They do not sell or give control From Intel Foundry to TSMC just when Intel is taking the technological front and starting to take off. It would be a terrible and demoralizing mistake. “
Although he does not expressly mention them, Bonetti suggests between the lines when he speaks of “the technological front” that Intel will take advantage of his experience with the teams of extreme ultraviolet lithography (UVE) and High Opening to recover leadership in the production of integrated circuits that lost many years ago. These machines produced by the Dutch company ASML are the most advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment that currently exists. AND Intel has two in the testing phase in its Hillsboro (USA) plant.
Next stop: 1.4 Nm
The main chips manufacturers on the planet are beginning to gradually try the new ASML photolithography equipment, but Intel was the first company that was done with them. In fact, at the end of February 2024 his engineers concluded successfully The process ‘First Light’which is nothing other than the first phase of the installation and calibration of these machines. Just then they began to do the first tests with them.
The 14A lithography (1.4 Nm) will be the first one in which Intel will use the Uve High opening equipment of ASML
The 14A lithography (1.4 Nm) will be the first one in which Intel will use the UVE High opening equipment of ASML. His Roadmap It does not reveal the exact moment in which this integration technology will be ready, but it is reasonable to assume that this moment It will arrive in 2026 Because in 2027 the 14A-E lithography will be prepared, which will be nothing other than a review of the original 14A integration technology. Anyway, Intel’s current itinerary does not conclude with this node.
Keyvan Esfarjani, which is one of the top responsible for the subsidiary of this company that specializes in the manufacture of integrated circuits, confirmed During the Intel Foundry Direct Connect event of 2024 that the production of chips in the 10A node (which will presumably be equivalent to the 1 Nm lithographs of its competitors) will begin at the end of 2027. It makes sense if we are in mind that in 2026 this company plans Have prepared the 14A node, although, yes, the manufacture of 1 NM semiconductors on a large scale will arrive later (possibly well entered 2028).
Anyway, if what we want is to take the pulse at the current moment of Intel the news is promising. Last Monday this company confirmed that it has already prosecuted 30,000 wafers in its EUV High-Na Twinscan Exe: 5000 teams. And he has done it in a quarter. This performance would be modest if we were talking about fully implanted commercial technology, but it is promising if we consider that Intel and ASML engineers are still mired in The test and development phase of semiconductors with the new haute opening equipment. In fact, it is currently reasonable to anticipate that Intel will be the first chips manufacturer that will place integrated circuits produced with this technology, which could give it a very important competitive advantage.
Image | ASML
More information | Reuters
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