Intel has started mass production on the '3nm' process in the US and Ireland

Intel has now started mass production of chips based on its new Intel 3 process. The company confirmed this during the annual VLSI Symposium. This is an improved version of the previous Intel 4 node, which should be used by both Intel itself and external customers.

Mass production of Intel 3 has started at two different locations, Intel reports in a presentation. The process is now offered at Intel's factories in Oregon and Ireland. The process has been ready for production since the end of 2023 and is now being used to make Intel's new Xeon 6 CPUs for data centers, among other things. Intel previously confirmed that this '3nm' node should be ready for use by the end of 2023, and now reports that this has been achieved.

The new Intel 3 process is an improved version of Intel 4, which was also available last year and with which Intel used ASML's EUV lithography machines for the first time. According to Intel, the new 3nm node performs up to eighteen percent better with the same power consumption. The transistor density must be up to ten percent higher.

With the new 3nm node, Intel is also introducing two different 'libraries', which amount to groups of transistors. Chipmakers can choose from a high-performance library with a height of 240nm and a 210nm library with a higher density. It is possible to combine the two for the most efficient chip design possible. Customers can also choose from three metal stacks: a relatively cheap version with 14 layers, a version with 21 layers for the best performance, and a version with 18 layers as an intermediate step.

Intel 3 will also be the last process that Intel bases on finfets. After this, with the 20A node scheduled to become available this year, the company will move to more advanced gate-all-around transistors. Unlike finfets, the silicon channels in those transistors are completely enclosed by the gate. This ensures that the transistors can be further reduced in size, without short channel effects such as leakage currents occurring. TSMC will switch to Gaa transistors next year. Samsung has been using such transistors since with its 3nm node from 2022, albeit with allegedly low yields.

Intel 3 is also the first advanced node that the company will offer to external customers. The company announced its IDM 2.0 business strategy more than three years ago. The company will also produce chips for other companies. Previously, Intel only produced its own CPUs. Later, various Intel 3 variants will become available with additional features or better performance. An 18A process with Gaa transistors is also planned for external customers.