Intel 3 Represents an Intel Foundry Milestone

By Jim McGregor, Tirias Research
EETimes (June 18, 2024)

At the 2024 IEEE Symposium on VLSI Technology & Circuits in Hawaii, Intel provided details of the Intel 3 semiconductor process node, the third of five nodes in four years promised under CEO Pat Gelsinger’s IDM 2.0 manufacturing strategy. Intel 3 represents a major step in the Intel Foundry strategy as the first advanced process node joining the Intel 16 mature process node and a precursor to Intel’s angstrom process nodes: Intel 20A and Intel 18A.

These latter process nodes introduce gate-all-around (or what Intel calls RibbonFET) technology, and backside power delivery (or PowerVia) while returning Intel to the forefront of semiconductor manufacturing. These middle process nodes have been viewed by many as just subnodes introducing simple process enhancements. But as Intel demonstrated in a paper at the IEEE Symposium, Intel 3 represents a full node transition in terms of technology and performance efficiency that will benefit both Intel and the rest of the industry.

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