Qualcomm, Amazon boost Intel plan to leapfrog chipmaking rivals by 2025
Intel unveiled on Tuesday a smorgasbord of new technologies designed to help it reclaim processor manufacturing leadership within four years. The plan bears the fingerprints of newly installed CEO Pat Gelsinger, who's pledged to restore the company's engineering leadership and credibility. Qualcomm and Amazon, whose processors rival Intel's, are now becoming Intel chipmaking customers.
Intel's technology developments include a new push to improve the power usage of Intel chips, a key element of battery life, while simultaneously raising chip performance. The technologies involve deep redesigns to how processors are constructed.
One technology, RibbonFET, fundamentally rewires the transistor circuitry at the heart of all processors. Another, PowerVia, reimagines how electrical power is delivered to those transistors. Last, Intel is updating its Foveros technology for packaging chip elements from different sources into dense stacks of computing horsepower.
If realized, Intel's commitments will mean faster laptops with longer battery life. The advancements could also boost technologies like artificial intelligence at cloud computing companies and speed up the services on mobile phone networks. The company made the announcements at an online press event.
"In 2025, we think we will regain that performance crown," Sanjay Natarajan, who rejoined Intel this year to lead the company's processor technology development, said in an interview.
Two companies, Amazon and Qualcomm, are convinced Intel's technology is worthwhile. They became the first customers to tap into Intel's new foundry business that builds chips for other companies. Intel didn't detail the plans, but it's notable that both companies design chips in the Arm processor family, a rival of Intel's x86 designs. In July, Intel said it's in discussions with 100 potential customers to use its manufacturing. (Another part of Gelsinger's recovery plan is for Intel to use rivals' chipmaking capabilities.)
Intel has struggled in recent years to move to more advanced manufacturing, delaying new PC and server chips. The company's difficulties created room for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to take the lead. Apple picked the company to build the M1 processors that are replacing Intel chips in its Mac computers. TSMC also makes chips for other Intel rivals like Nvidia, Qualcomm and AMD.
Samsung too has benefited from Intel's trouble. The third major chipmaker, Samsung makes processors for its own electronics products, as well as for other companies.
Despite its struggles, Intel is still making lots of money. On July 22, it reported an $8.4 billion profit for the second quarter of the year on revenue of $19.6 billion. Under Gelsinger, Intel is investing more money in research and development to support its long-term future.
"This is the first time Intel really put it all together. I think that's a direct result of what Pat's bringing to the party," said VLSI Research analyst Dan Hutcheson. "He's putting the tech people back in the driver's seat."
New names for Intel manufacturing processes
Also on Monday, Intel said it has renamed each node -- the collection of technologies used to improve chips -- on its multiyear plan for manufacturing progress. The company has deemphasized the physical size of transistor features measured in nanometers, or billionths of a meter. The new labeling approach is in line with the terms in use at other chip foundries and should clarify Intel's plans, Hutcheson said.
Intel's process node name isn't changing for today's 10-nanometer process. But an improvement previously called Enhanced SuperFin is now called Intel 7. It'll mean a 10% to 15% improvement in performance per watt. Intel's 7nm process is now called Intel 4 should bring a 20% performance per watt gain with chips in 2023. Intel 3 will show up in late 2023 with another 18% gain; RibbonFET and PowerVia arrive in Intel 20A in 2024; and another performance boost should arrive in 2025 with the Intel 18A process.
"It becomes very clear Intel is going to be delivering a lot higher performance than the foundries" when the gains are combined, said Real World Technologies analyst David Kanter.
The moves contrast sharply with Intel's years of difficulty moving to the company's most advanced process. "We're in a great position to achieve unquestioned leadership for our customers," Gelsinger said at the event.
Intel's new transistor technology
RibbonFET describes Intel's gate all around technology, which is designed to make next-generation chips possible. TSMC and Samsung have announced GAA technology, though it isn't in production. Intel hopes its use will make the company competitive in 2024.
In a transistor, a gate controls when electrical current flows through the component. These tiny current flows, orchestrated by the instructions that software delivers to a chip, determine how billions of interconnected transistors can process information. GAA helps ensure gates can still control transistors as chips get smaller.
Intel is pairing RibbonFET with PowerVia, a new way to distribute electrical power to transistors. In today's chips, separate tiny copper wires attach to the top of the chip to deliver power, as well as input data and to retrieve output data. With PowerVia, Intel connects power distribution wires to the bottom of the transistor instead.
The upshot, as with RibbonFET, is "better performance at the same power," or if you fiddle the knobs differently, the same performance with lower power consumption, Natarajan said.
Given Intel's recent missteps, analysts aren't convinced the gains are a sure bet. For one thing, it's hard to convert research and development technology into high-quality, large-scale processing.
But Intel is working hard to telegraph confidence. It's basing plans on today's measurements for defects, performance and reliability. It'll test PowerVia on the Intel 3 process to make sure it's ready for production on 20A, too. "We have put a concerted focus on schedule predictability," Natarajan said.
Packaging improvements
Also new are improvements to Intel's Foveros technology for stacking smaller chips into one larger processing element. Foveros debuted with a chip code named Lakefield for ultralight laptops. The next generation of the technology will appear in Meteor Lake, Intel's chip for mainstream PCs due in 2023.
Intel also detailed new Foveros developments. Foveros Omni and Foveros Direct, both due in 2023, provide new ways to stack chip elements and to send data signals and power through the stack.
Foveros means better flexibility not just for Intel, which will be able to incorporate chips from other companies into Foveros designs, but for future Intel foundry customers wanting to assemble their own processor packages, said Ann Kelleher, who leads Intel's process and packaging work.
One example of Foveros' flexibility advantage is that Intel could make some key chip elements with cutting-edge manufacturing lines but then use older and cheaper but adequate designs for other elements, like controlling chips' communications with computer memory, said Tirias Research analyst Kevin Krewell.
Kelleher also said Intel plans a Foveros successor using optical connections that send data as light. Such silicon photonics technology hasn't yet become mainstream for short data transfer distances, despite years of work, but it remains an active area of research for the benefits it could bring in high speed and low power.
"Pat is very focused on getting back to leadership and really supportive of engineering teams," Kelleher said, referring to Gelsinger. "Projects don't happen without people and dollars."
Source
Tags:
Blog Archive
-
▼
2023
(215)
-
▼
January
(100)
- Mom Crochets Adorable E.T. Costume, Turns Son Into...
- An $80 Multipurpose Air Fryer Oven That Does It Al...
- HP Chromebook X2 Review: Gives Surface Pro, Pixel ...
- The Best Roomba Alternatives To Keep Your Floors C...
- Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 And 5 Pro: How Do They Comp...
- The Best Amazon Cyber Monday Deals You Can Get Rig...
- Motorola Moto Z Play Review: A Battery Beast
- Take Up To $250 Off Unlocked Galaxy S22 Plus Smart...
- 2022 Kia Carnival First Drive Review: A Luxurious ...
- Philips Airfryer Avance Collection Review: The Air...
- Tesla Revives Enhanced Autopilot For $6,000
- Brock Lesnar Just Made Wrestling Real In The Most ...
- Dell XPS 13 (winter 2013) Review: Still Can't Touc...
- EV Tax Credits: Manchin A No On Build Back Better ...
- 5 Predictions For Bitcoin, NFTs And The Future Of ...
- Dolly Parton's New 'Doggy Parton' Pet Products Inc...
- TikTok Is Reportedly Testing 5-minute Videos
- Facebook Hits Pause On Instagram Kids As Concern M...
- Nvidia In Advanced Talks To Buy Chipmaker Arm, Say...
- Ouya Teams With Xiaomi To Bring Video Games To China
- OLED Laptop Screens Are Worth It -- For Some
- IPhone 14 Is Trending Before The IPhone 13 Has Eve...
- Order Your Favorite TikTok Recipes From TikTok Kit...
- Save $47 On Nespresso's Sleek Vertuo Next With Mil...
- Apple Endorses AVIF Photo Format For A Faster Web ...
- 6 Spooky Google Home Tricks (and Treats) To Try To...
- TikTok Is Reportedly Testing 5-minute Videos
- YouTube Feature Looks To Help You Connect Your Pho...
- The Galaxy S21 Lineup Is Here, With A $200 Price C...
- Google's New Wallet App Is Available Globally, Rep...
- Roman Reigns' Heel Turn At Payback Is WWE's Boldes...
- Google Will Now Let You Limit Ads Around Pregnancy...
- Cut Cords And Clean Better With Up To 45% Off Shar...
- More People Need To Watch This Trippy Sci-Fi Gem O...
- Does Your Next Phone Really Need 5G? How To Decide
- Qualcomm Gets OK To Sell 4G Chips To Huawei, Despi...
- Snag A Kindle Kids E-Reader For As Low As $60 Toda...
- Worldwide Smartphone Shipments Tick Up, Driven Mos...
- Stop Pouring Vinegar Into Your Dishwasher. Here's Why
- 'She-Hulk' Episode 2 Drops Intriguing X-Men Reference
- Studio Ghibli's Movies Ranked To Celebrate Totoro ...
- Celebrate Joann's Anniversary With Up To 60% Off D...
- Best MacBook Pro Alternatives For 2022
- Xiaomi Shares Fall Nearly 6% On IPO
- Qualcomm, Amazon Boost Intel Plan To Leapfrog Chip...
- Snapchat Will Let You Change Your Username Soon
- Twitter Has Finally Announced An Edit Feature
- 'Hug Me' On TikTok: What To Know About The Popular...
- Being A First-Time Homebuyer Can Be Stressful. Her...
- World's Oldest Living Dog Is A Toy Fox Terrier Tha...
- It's 2022, And I'm Still Losing My Apple TV Remote
- Apple's M2 Chip Gives New MacBook Air A Speed Boost
- When Is Amazon Prime Day 2022?
- The Coolest Smartphones Are Hard To Find In The US...
- Faraday Future Only Has 401 Preorders For Its Firs...
- Pokemon Go Xurkitree Raid Guide: Best Counters And...
- WWE 2K20 Is Being Eviscerated By Fans For Its Insa...
- Tesla Recalls Over 54,000 Models Over FSD Update T...
- Scream Trailer: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox Face ...
- Save Up To $250 On Apple's Powerful 14-Inch MacBoo...
- Behind The 'Flame' Malware Spying On Mideast Compu...
- What Is An Escrow Account And How Does It Work?
- Big Screen Bargain: This 17-Inch Gaming Laptop Is ...
- $500 Moto G Stylus 5G And $400 Moto G 5G Get 50MP ...
- Samsung Slashes Galaxy Z Flip 5G Price By $250 To ...
- IPhone 14, Pixel 7 And Galaxy S23: These Upcoming ...
- Google Maps Adds Toll Road Price Estimates And Bet...
- Oppo PM-3 Review: Groundbreaking $400 Planar Magne...
- Uber Announces Fuel Surcharge As Gas Prices Soar
- Ransomware Cost US Schools $3.56 Billion In 2021, ...
- How To Turn On Caps Lock On A Chromebook
- 20 Viral TikTok Products To Add To Your Shopping List
- Dubious Android Apps May Not Be Malware--just Ads
- Fitbit And Apple Know Their Smartwatches Aren't Me...
- The Best Comedies On Netflix You Absolutely Need T...
- Pilot Like A Pro With $40 Off This Beginner-Friend...
- The White House Issues First Crypto Order. This We...
- How To Use Emojis In Google Docs: It Just Got Easier
- The Worst Credit Card Mistakes You Should Stop Making
- Prototype Gadget Can Scan And Identify Fonts On De...
- Honor's Magic V Foldable Is Another 'creaseless,' ...
- What Is Net Metering And How Does It Work?
- Motorola Announces $1,000 Edge Plus To Compete Aga...
- Can Fuel Up And Pay Later Help Curb Soaring Gas Pr...
- TikTok Is The Most Downloaded App Worldwide In 202...
- Google To Start Sending Rapid Air Raid Alerts To A...
- This Is Verizon's First 5G Smartphone
- Fossil Gen 6 Smartwatch Line Touts Faster Charging...
- 'Lightyear' Review: A Toy Story With A Whole Lot O...
- Last Call: Save Up To $1,000 On Galaxy Z Fold 4 An...
- Asus ROG 2 Gaming Phone Could Launch In July
- Wild VR Gadget Makes Virtual Objects Feel Solid At...
- 2023 Kia Telluride Will Debut April 13 In New York
- Phones With In-screen Fingerprint Scanners: Galaxy...
- Five Toy Drones For Beginners
- OnePlus 6T: Six Features We're Dying To See
- Mortgage Refinance Rates For Aug. 24, 2022: Rates ...
- IOS 15.6: All The IPhone Updates You'll Get After ...
- 6 Things That Didn't Make An Appearance At The App...
- Save Hundreds By Setting Your Water Heater To This...
-
▼
January
(100)
Total Pageviews
Search This Blog
Popular Posts
-
Ukuran tinggi spring bed bigland di, ukuran tinggi spring bed bigland golden, ukuran tinggi dalam meter, ukuran tinggi badan, ukuran tinggi ...
-
Carta de colores de pinturas unidas, carta de colores lanco, pintura popular dominicana carta de colores, carta de colores tropical, carta d...
-
Ukuran panjang lebar majalah tempo, ukuran panjang lebar majalah popular, ukuran panjang lebar majalah rasa, ukuran panjang lebar majalah wa...