Rumor: Intel to release three 10nm generations of processors

Intel, according to rumors, is to release three generations of processors that will be fabbed on 5nm after Cannonlake and Icelake. Yesterday we already talked a bit about 5nm at TSMC. This new rumor pops up exactly at the same moment.

The third generation would be called Tigerlake and thus is indicative of a second tock in the tick-tick model. This year we will see Kaby lake based on 14nm, this is also an extra tock in the sequence. The tock basically means that Intel is not using a new production node with a smaller fabbed architecture yet sticks to the fabrication process. Last week during the quarterly results announcements the company strangle enough stated that it strives to get back to that tick-tock model. If Cannonlake appears in the 2nd half of 2017 and Icecake would surface a year later then Tigerlake should surface in the 2nd half of 2019 with the first 7nm chips in 2020.

For 5nm we'll probably see a new technology used, EUV-technology. EUV is Extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) and is a next-generation lithography technology using an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wavelength, currently expected to be 13.5 nm. EUV is currently targeted for possible future use below 15 nm resolution after the 7 nm node, in 2018–19. The primary EUV tool maker, ASML, projects EUV at 5 nm node to require a higher numerical aperture than currently available and multiple patterning to a greater degree than immersion lithography at 20 nm node. It was first targeted for 100 nm conventional patterning.