[confirmed] Intel reportedly delays 10nm mass production - poor yelds

[zMeul]

source: http://www.kitguru.net/components/anton-shilov/intel-delays-ramp-of-10nm-mass-production-due-to-poor-yields-report/

 

 

 

Intel Corp. has again delayed installation of equipment necessary to produce semiconductors in high volume using 10nm process technology. It is believed that Intel experiences yield ramp issues, just like in case of its 14nm manufacturing tech, which is why it does not make sense for the company to buy and install new equipment just now.

In April, it was reported that Intel put off purchase of tools to start mass production of chips at fab 28 in Kiryat Gat, Israel, from March to December. The acquisition of the equipment is a part of a $6 billion upgrade plan for the company’s semiconductor fabrication facility, which is tremendously important for Intel. SemiWiki reports that recently the world’s largest chipmaker decided to further delay purchase of the equipment to 2016 and hence postpone volume production of chips using its 10nm fabrication process.

Intel’s competitors on the market of semiconductors – Samsung Electronics and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. – plan to start high-volume production of 10nm products in 2015. Potentially, they may leave Intel behind with the new node, which is a bad news for Intel, which has been the technological leader of the semiconductor market for decades.

If Samsung and TSMC manage to start high-volume production of 10nm chips earlier than Intel and those processors can threat central processing units from Intel, then the latter is in trouble. At present Intel has to sell its tablet system-on-chips at a loss in order to sustain or gain market share against partners of ARM Holdings. If designers of ARM-based chips gain technological advantage over Intel and that advantage translates into performance and power consumption benefits, then Intel is in trouble since notebook designers may prefer ARM-based SoCs to Intel’s CPUs.

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By contrast, Samsung and TSMC will continue to use FinFET transistors at 10nm. That said, it is not cast in stone that Samsung’s and TSMC’s 10nm technologies will be dramatically better than Intel’s 14nm FinFET.

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update July 16th: Intel confirms 10nm delays as it enters 3rd generation of 14nm products

source: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/07/intel-confirms-tick-tock-shattering-kaby-lake-processor-as-moores-law-falters/

 

Intel has confirmed today that it will build a third generation of processors on its 14nm process, and that the switch to 10nm manufacturing has been delayed until the second half of 2017, showing the challenges that Moore's Law is under, and bringing an end to the company's "tick-tock" strategy.

AnandTech - Intel second quarter earnings

 

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if Intel delays this 10nm process node they might have a problem, depending on what Samsung can actually produce; this wasn't exactly unexpected

[AlwaysFSX]

This isn't surprising to be completely honest. I don't mind companies sticking around a node for a while either because we've done it so often anyways with great improvements done over the years on the same scale. I guess it's just wanting to be the first to have a three-atom wide gate.

[bogus]

Is this the window every other player in the market was waiting for to pick up with Intel fab process?

[Briggsy]

Agreed, wasn't expecting 10nm for a long time. I wouldn't be surprised if they release mobile 10nm parts a year or more before desktop parts.

[SurvivorNVL]

Alright Samsung.  I only ask this once a week, but please buy AMD, wipe the debt, help them with their processes, and give us some competition wars again.

[Sam Z Man]

Looks like Cannonlake will be just as delayed as broadwell was.

[That Norwegian Guy]

The waiting game - #1 best seller right now

[AlwaysFSX]

Alright Samsung.  I only ask this once a week, but please buy AMD, wipe the debt, help them with their processes, and give us some competition wars again.

Hell ignore debts, buy the rights and sell things branded for AMD to fix their shit.

[Sidiox]

If Intel can't pull 10nm off then I don't see the others doing it with good (profitable) yields.

[SurvivorNVL]

Hell ignore debts, buy the rights and sell things branded for AMD to fix their shit.

Buy the rights, pay off the debts, and recover all losses by making all Samsung SMART Fridges, "Powered by Radeon ™ "

[Unlikelyjoker]

Buy the rights, pay off the debts, and recover all losses by making all Samsung SMART Fridges, "Powered by Radeon

Ice Dispencer now has GameWorks enabled.

All fridges are now useless thanks Nvidia.

The Way To Fuck You Over.

[patrickjp93]

This report isn't remotely credible. The fab in Israel is 2 months from being done in construction anyway, and then that leaves outfitting which will be another month or two minimum.

[Bogica]

As usual, Intel is just chillin. No competition means they don't have to push themselves hard at all. I was kind of expecting this. They say the 14nm series will be just another standard issue of i3/i5/i7 with lower consumption and same amount of cores and threads. Same song and dance...

[jos]

Alright Samsung.  I only ask this once a week, but please buy AMD, wipe the debt, help them with their processes, and give us some competition wars again.

It will be doomsday... if the sail goes.. they cannot use i386 instruction and wil slow things down,,,

[SurvivorNVL]

It will be doomsday... if the sail goes.. they cannot use i386 instruction and wil slow things down,,,

Well, even if that happened--Samsung would probably try to acquire the license for AMD, a Samsung Group Company, or it'd go to nVidia and then we'd see other interesting developments.  

[zMeul]

This report isn't remotely credible. The fab in Israel is 2 months from being done in construction anyway, and then that leaves outfitting which will be another month or two minimum.

this isn't about the fab not being ready on time, but issues with the actual process node

[vm'N]

This was quite expected.

They haven't really filled up their 14nm yet. My guess is the lack 14nm customers, is putting intel low on budget to actually have R&D to put forward for 10nm.

[Dabombinable]

Buy the rights, pay off the debts, and recover all losses by making all Samsung SMART Fridges, "Powered by Radeon ™ "

You mean ovens not fridges.

[patrickjp93]

this isn't about the fab not being ready on time, but issues with the actual process node

They can't be having yield issues on a process not yet implemented. The equipment isn't even in the building. The only place making 10nm chips right now is HQ for testing and tuning yields before wide deployment which still has validation runs before mass production can begin.

[patrickjp93]

This was quite expected.

They haven't really filled up their 14nm yet. My guess is the lack 14nm customers, is putting intel low on budget to actually have R&D to put forward for 10nm.

Intel having a low budget is laughable.

[vm'N]

Intel having a low budget is laughable.

Do you actually think they would just tank up the cost? That is even more laughable, to be honest.

[Bouzoo]

We knew this since Kaby Lake is coming next year. Well, this is the confirmation of what we basically knew.

[patrickjp93]

Do you actually think they would just tank up the cost? That is even more laughable, to be honest.

It wouldn't be the first time, especially with profits soaring as they are.

[patrickjp93]

We knew this since Kaby Lake is coming next year. Well, this is the confirmation of what we basically knew.

The Skylake equivalent of the Devil's Canyon refresh (except this time with a new graphics core deployed) confirms a 10nm delay? That's not remotely credible evidence.

[vm'N]

It wouldn't be the first time, especially with profits soaring as they are.

I don't remember the last time?

So by forcing out a more expensive solution, they will have better profits?

They need the profit from 14nm to reinvest into 10nm.