By Jeffrey Dastin and Max A. Cherney
The production process of San Francisco (Reuters) -tel hoped for the production of production agreements and the way to restore the edge of high-level, high-marginal chips, he faced a major obstacle on quality because he tested new technologies, and two people told Reuters.
For months, Intel (IntC) promised investors to increase production using a process called 18a. Taiwan’s chipset has developed 18A, including the construction or upgrades of several factories to challenge heavyweight TSMC, spent billions of dollars. Intel wants to complete its business by designing the chips that it has largely made within the company with a contract production business that can compete with this lock supplier and helps TSMC to produce. However, it depends on the closure of the technology gap with the TSMC, in which Intel has re -revived the advanced chip production in the US and has taken the contract document on a solid basis.
The first tests disappointed customers last year, but Intel said that starting from 2025, a high -volume “Panther Lake” laptop semiconductors with a more efficient way to provide new generation transistors and chip power. Chipmaker hoped that the production of such an in-house chip at a time when the new CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s new CEO was investigating the new CEO, the production of such an developed in-house chip would show external interest in Foundry.
Nevertheless, only a small percentage of Panther Lake chips printed over 18a, two people who have been briefed to the test data of the company since the end of last year are good enough to offer customers. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because Intel did not authorize such information to disclose such information.
This percentage figure, known as yield, means that Intel can fight to make a profitable way to make the senior laptop chip in the near future.
As a documentary optimizes the production process, yield can be up or down. Companies also calculate the yield in various ways, which can make these critical data a moving target letter, two people and two additional resources with Intel’s production operation.
Intel’s Chief Finance Officer David Zinsner told Reuters in his July 24 interview, yields often “low and recovery over time,” he said.
For Lake Panther, he said, “At the beginning of the ramp.” In a statement on July 30, Intel added: “Our performance and yield orbit gives us confidence, this will be a successful launch that further strengthens Intel’s position in the notebook market.”
In the past, Intel said that it was aimed at a return to the north of 50% before its production ramp, because it was at risk of damaging the profit margin before.
Intel typically, the yield does not take the share of the lion’s profit until it reaches roughly 70% to 80%, three people, the key for a small chip where many flaws will make a difficult sale of Panther Lake. Intel said profit is due to market expansions and factory outputs.
Two people who have knowledge about Intel’s production operation, Panther Lake’s fourth quarter launch by the launch of an enormous yield increase will be a long task, he said. However, without such a leap, some chips may have to sell with a lower profit margin or loss.
Lake Panther said, “It is completely on the way,” Intel said in the July 30 commentary. Intel did not specify the yield threshold where the chips became profitable.
The company warned that if it does not do foreign business for the 14A, the new generation successor of 18A, it could completely come out of the leading production.
‘Hail Mary’
Intel’s 18a process included major production changes, and introduced new technologies such as a feature that will increase the new generation transistor design and energy for a chip. Three of the sources created production risks because of the complexity of the production of chips.
Intel took over this difficulty to close the performance gap with TSMC, but the aggressive time schedule to launch unproven systems, established for failure, said the two people provide information about the test data of the company. One of them “Hail Mary” metal analogy.
In April, Intel said that he started an important step to print Panther Lake chips through 18a, known as “risk production”. The company also said that he used Panther Lake chips at Taiwan Computex Expo in May.
However, the problems continued.
One aspect that measures the progress of chip manufacturers is to measure the number of defects that can vary according to a semiconductor design per field area. Two briefed sources of test data, according to industrial standards Panther Lake chips for the start of Intel’s high -volume production, about three times too much flaws, he said.
These sources, at the end of last year, said that only 5% of Intel Printed Panther Lake chips have reached their characteristics. He said that this yield figure increased to 10% this summer, and that one of the sources that warned that if Intel counts chips that do not reach every performance target, increased to approximately 10%. Reuters has not been able to determine the final yield right now.
In an interview with Reuters, Zinsner objected to these figures and said, “Yields are better than that.” He did not give a number for the end of July or 2024, and Intel refused to provide this data.
“Our expectation will be better and better every month, so that at the end of the year we are at a level of efficiency that is good for Lake Panther at the production level.”
Zinsner said that he touched more supply chain contacts than ever before, and gave them data to help improve chip yields.
For now, Intel is partly dependent on TSMC to make in -house designed chips. An Intel director said that Nova Lake, a chip planned after Lake Panther in June, will be partially held in TSMC.
(Reporting by Max A. Cherney and Jeffrey Dastin in San Francisco; Additional reports by Stephen Nellis;
