Tuesday, April 21, 2015 8:34:29 AM
By Ashraf Eassa | More Articles | Save For Later
April 21, 2015 | Comments (0)
According to the technical program for the upcoming VLSI Symposium, Intel (NASDAQ: INTC ) plans to detail its 14-nanometer system-on-chip manufacturing technology. This follows the company's initial 14-nanometer disclosures at the International Electron Devices Meeting in December 2014.
Although the full paper won't be published until June, when the conference is expected to take place, the company has provided key technical details in the summary provided in the aforementioned technical program.
Let's take a look at what Intel's got here.
Impressive density
Intel has talked a lot about the density of its 14-nanometer manufacturing technology relative to what its competitors in the semiconductor foundry landscape have been able to deliver with their respective 14/16-nanometer technologies. The company reports that it is delivering a high density SRAM cell -- a common structure -- in an area of just 0.0499 square micrometers.
Competitors TSMC (NYSE: TSM ) and Samsung (NASDAQOTH: SSNLF ) have reported that high density SRAM cells implemented in their respective 16-nanometer and 14-nanometer processes take areas of 0.070 square micrometers and 0.064 square micrometers.
The density that Intel has been able to achieve here is, in my view, quite competitive.
Good performance at low voltage
Intel says that at 100 nA/um leakage current, its high performance 14-nanometer transistors deliver NMOS/PMOS saturated drive currents of 1.3mA/um and 1.2mA/um, respectively (higher is better). These numbers, according to Intel, represent improvements of 37% and 50%, respectively, over what it achieved with its 22-nanometer technology.
Intel also discussed the drive currents of its ultra-low power NMOS/PMOS transistors at 15pA/um leakage, saying that it has achieved 0.50 mA/um and 0.32 mA/um, respectively.
Note that these numbers are all at 0.7 volts.
Samsung, sadly, hasn't published more details of its 14-nanometer technology, but TSMC did publish saturated drive currents of its 16-nanometer process at IEDM in late 2013. I can't get a good estimate of what drive currents TSMC is reporting at the 15pA/um leakage level from the plot found in the paper, but at the 100 nA/um level, TSMC reported NMOS/PMOS saturated drive currents below what Intel reported:
Also keep in mind that these transistors in TSMC's paper were operating at 0.75 volts -- 0.05 volts higher than what the Intel transistors required.
Can't forget analog
Intel says that its 14-nanometer system-on-chip manufacturing technology includes a "full suite of analog, mixed-signal, and RF features [which] are also supported." This should come in handy for the company's mobile ambitions, as the company has expressed a desire to move its entire wireless chip portfolio (which relies heavily on analog, mixed signal, and/or RF features) from being manufactured at third-party chip manufacturers.
What does this mean?
I believe that Intel has very impressive chip manufacturing technology that should be very well suited to building competitive system-on-chip products aimed at many different segments. In particular, though, Intel's 14-nanometer technology should give it a performance edge over mobile competitors building chips on competing 14/16-nanometer technologies.
What will be key for Intel now, though, is translating this best-in-class manufacturing technology into best-in-class mobile chip architectures that arrive at the marketplace in a timely fashion -- something that has proven difficult for the chip giant.
To illustrate this, Intel's Cherry Trail chip, built on the very 14-nanometer system-on-chip manufacturing technology discussed here, isn't competitive with chips such as the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ) A8X (built on TSMC 20-nanometer technology) and the 14-nanometer Samsung Exynos 7420.
Intel's next mobile product built on this technology, codenamed Broxton, is scheduled to arrive in 2016. As an Intel bull, I'm hoping that the Broxton definition and implementation teams took full advantage of all that this 14-nanometer process has to offer.
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/04/21/intel-corporation-to-detail-14-nanometer-system-on.aspx
Recent INTC News
- More than 500 AI Models Run Optimized on Intel Core Ultra Processors • Business Wire • 05/01/2024 05:00:00 PM
- Intel Takes Next Step Toward Building Scalable Silicon-Based Quantum Processors • Business Wire • 05/01/2024 03:00:00 PM
- U.S. Stocks May See Further Upside In Early Trading • IH Market News • 04/29/2024 01:05:53 PM
- U.S. Futures Rise in Pre-Market Trading Amid Key Federal Reserve Meeting and Earnings Week Ahead • IH Market News • 04/29/2024 11:12:54 AM
- U.S. Stocks Rally On Upbeat Tech Earnings • IH Market News • 04/26/2024 08:30:27 PM
- Exxon Mobil Net Profit Drops 28% to $8.22 Billion, Atlassian Surprises with Revenue Boost and Co-CEO Exit, and More in Earnings • IH Market News • 04/26/2024 11:47:51 AM
- U.S. Stocks Climb Well Off Worst Levels But Close Mostly Lower • IH Market News • 04/25/2024 08:40:00 PM
- Intel Reports First-Quarter 2024 Financial Results • Business Wire • 04/25/2024 08:01:00 PM
- U.S. Futures Drop in Pre-Market Trading as Tech Stocks Plunge After Meta Issues Gloomy Forecast • IH Market News • 04/25/2024 11:53:54 AM
- BHP Bids $38.8 Billion for Anglo American; Biden Unveils Historic Micron Technology Deal, and More News • IH Market News • 04/25/2024 11:48:40 AM
- Futures Pointing To Extended Rebound On Wall Street • IH Market News • 04/23/2024 01:11:27 PM
- U.S. Stocks Close On Bright Note Despite Coming Off Day’s Highs • IH Market News • 04/22/2024 08:38:04 PM
- Nasdaq, S&P 500 Extend Losing Streaks On Tech Weakness But Dow Advances • IH Market News • 04/19/2024 08:32:14 PM
- Paramount’s Shares Surge Following Sony and Apollo’s Joint Bid; ISS Backs Berkshire Hathaway Director Re-election, and More • IH Market News • 04/19/2024 11:31:22 AM
- Intel Builds World’s Largest Neuromorphic System to Enable More Sustainable AI • Business Wire • 04/17/2024 04:22:00 PM
- United Shares Surge 5.3% in Q1 2024 Earnings Beat; Take-Two Cuts 5% of Workforce, and More News • IH Market News • 04/17/2024 10:57:39 AM
- Intel Brings AI-Platform Innovation to Life at the Olympic Games • Business Wire • 04/17/2024 08:00:00 AM
- Samsung Surpasses Apple in Q1 Smartphone Market; Salesforce in Talks to Acquire Informatica, and More News • IH Market News • 04/15/2024 11:06:48 AM
- Paramount Global Board Shrinks, Morgan Stanley Faces Regulatory Probe, and More News • IH Market News • 04/12/2024 11:05:29 AM
- Delta Generates US$37 Million Profit in Q1, Google and Intel Unveil Cutting-Edge AI Chips, and More News • IH Market News • 04/10/2024 11:13:48 AM
- Intel Unleashes Enterprise AI with Gaudi 3, AI Open Systems Strategy and New Customer Wins • Business Wire • 04/09/2024 03:35:00 PM
- Bigger Than Expected Increase In Jobless Claims May Generate Buying Interest • IH Market News • 04/04/2024 01:05:37 PM
- US Index Futures Rise, Oil Dips Slightly • IH Market News • 04/04/2024 11:31:45 AM
- Intel to Report First-Quarter 2024 Financial Results • Business Wire • 04/03/2024 08:30:00 PM
- Major Averages Fluctuate Before Closing Narrowly Mixed • IH Market News • 04/03/2024 08:26:25 PM
Bantec Engaged in a Letter of Intent to Acquire a Small New Jersey Based Manufacturing Company • BANT • May 1, 2024 10:00 AM
Cannabix Technologies to Deliver Breath Logix Alcohol Screening Device to Australia • BLO • Apr 30, 2024 8:53 AM
Hydromer, Inc. Reports Preliminary Unaudited Financial Results for First Quarter 2024 • HYDI • Apr 29, 2024 9:10 AM
Avant Technologies to Implement AI-Empowered, Zero Trust Architecture in Its Data Centers • AVAI • Apr 29, 2024 8:00 AM
Bantec Reports an Over 50 Percent Increase in Sales and Profits in Q1 2024 from Q1 2023 • BANT • Apr 25, 2024 10:00 AM
Cannabix's Breath Logix Alcohol Device Delivers Positive Impact to Private Monitoring Agency in Montana, USA • BLO • Apr 25, 2024 8:52 AM