7nm of intel will be equivalent to 5nm of tsmc, one year later
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Intel CEO Bob Swan said his 7nm process is expected to match TSMC's 5nm process. He also noted that Intel's 5nm process is expected to match TSMC's 3nm process as well.
Intel's 7nm node will arrive in 2021
However, what Swan did not mention is that Intel is no longer in the lead in terms of process technology and that its 7nm process is expected to arrive around a year later, in 2021, compared to TSMC's 5nm., which will produce device chips for the second half of 2020.
When Intel announced the 22nm Tri-gate (FinFET) process, it was more than a generation ahead compared to TSMC and other competitors like AMD. For one thing, it was on a smaller 22nm process compared to others moving to 28nm / 32nm process nodes. And second, the move to FinFET alone gave it its own generational boost in performance and efficiency. Intel's process leadership was indisputable for years.
The one exception was in mobile chips, where its 22nm FinFET Atom chip could barely match the latest high-end 28nm chips, and at a higher chip cost. That's why Intel eventually tried to license the Atom design to Chinese factoryless semiconductor companies to build their own cheaper “Atom” chips in TSMC's 28nm process. A strategy that did not work at all.
Intel then switched to 14nm. The company experienced some delays with Broadwell chips, which were the first to use the 14nm process. Intel also ended up quickly replacing the Broadwell generation with Skylake. This increased the density of transistors by 2.4 times.
However, instead of taking this lesson seriously, Intel attempted to increase the density even more aggressively with the 10nm process, by 2.7 times. After years and years of delays, the company recently admitted that the goal was too ambitious for the company.
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This is why for its switch to 7nm EUV, Intel will reduce the density increase to 2.0 times. Switching to an extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) process is already difficult enough. It is also Intel's first attempt to implement EUV, following in the footsteps of Samsung and TSMC.
As TSMC's 5nm nodes began manufacturing in mid-2020, Intel's first 7nm chips will arrive in 2021. We'll keep you posted.
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