On Dec. 2, Intel announced CEO Pat Gelsinger’s departure. That same day, I participated in a technical session led by several engineers from Intel’s integrated circuit manufacturing subsidiary. Despite the challenging situation the company is currently facing, the work it’s undertaking in this area is quite fascinating.
Shortly after he took over as CEO in 2021, one of Gelsinger’s promises was to position Intel as a manufacturer of advanced chips for third parties. His goal was to compete directly with TSMC and, to a lesser extent, with Samsung. To achieve this, Gelsinger aimed to develop the most advanced integration technology and the best transistors in the chip industry by 2025.
Intel Plans to Develop Integrated Circuits With One Trillion Transistors by 2030
In late 2022, Intel announced its goal to advance photolithography technology sufficiently to produce integrated circuits with at least one trillion transistors by 2030. Achieving this ambitious target will require significant refinements in transistor design and integration technology. The engineers responsible for these advancements are primarily the same individuals who have contributed to crucial innovations such as FinFET transistors and strained silicon.
Intel has already developed the capability to transfer more than 15,000 chiplets to a parallel wafer.
Intel is undoubtedly making significant efforts to enhance the competitiveness of its integration technologies. Competing effectively with industry leaders like TSMC and Samsung is essential for Intel’s future. Meanwhile, Intel’s engineers are working on several promising innovations.
One of these innovations is in the image below. Interestingly, Intel has already developed the capability to transfer more than 15,000 chiplets to a parallel wafer.
At first glance, it’s hard to believe, especially considering that the standard diameter of wafers currently produced is 12 inches. It seems impossible for more than 15,000 integrated circuits to be transferred to one of these wafers simultaneously. However, this becomes plausible when you take into account that each chip has an area of just 1 sq mm. This is incredible.
Moreover, according to Intel, this process takes only a few minutes. In contrast, current integration technologies require several hours or even more than a day to achieve the same results.
When this innovation leaves the laboratory and reaches Intel’s semiconductor plants, all the integrated circuits it produces will benefit from it. However, one type of chip is expected to be especially enhanced: GPUs for artificial intelligence. Intel aims to solidify its position in this market to enhance the competitiveness of its own AI chips, attract new customers, and manufacture data center GPUs designed by third parties. Currently, TSMC is the leading company in this segment.
The image above includes several interesting facts, but one stands out as particularly noteworthy. Intel says it has significantly refined its GAA transistors, achieving a 6-nm gate length and a 1.7-nm channel thickness. These specifications are impressive and demonstrate that the integration technology Intel is describing is much more advanced than its current production capabilities.
It’s also important to note that GAA transistors will play a crucial role in the next generation of cutting-edge integrated circuits. The three largest semiconductor manufacturers in the world (TSMC, Intel, and Samsung) are all working on this technology. However, only Samsung has begun using it so far. In fact, the South Korean company started production of GAA chips on its first-generation 3 nm node in June 2022.
These innovations are just a portion of what Intel engineers are developing. They’ve also reported significant improvements in the interconnections within integrated circuits. Additionally, they claim to have reduced defects in the manufacturing process, which can greatly impact chip performance. Intel Foundry has additional innovations underway. It looks like 2025 is going to be particularly exciting.
Image | Maxence Pira | Intel
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