Intel, Arm, 3D FinFETs & mobile computing's future

By EETimes

May 17, 2011

Intel Corp.’s move to a 22 nm Trigate vertical 3D FinFET (Fin-shaped field effect transistor) structure for use in nextgen CPUs means that for the first time the company may be a jump ahead of ARM Ltd. and its licensees in many embedded and mobile apps, and may also be able to cut off a move by ARM into PCs and servers.

Although Intel is hoping that the new FinFET structure will give it a big lead – maybe as much as three years - on its competitors, the move into this new and still largely untried transistor structure is definitely a high stakes gamble on Intel’s part. For one thing, ARM and its partners may not be far behind, with several ARM test chips implemented with FinFETs, with semiconductor foundries used by Intel’s competitors already working on the necessary tooling. One, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), is planning the rollout of an initial FinFET process at the 14-nm node level in the near future.

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