Intel’s 1.4 nm lithography was introduced; All-round attack of the blue team to the future

In 2021, when Pat Gelsinger Returning to Intel as CEO, the company formulated an exciting new strategy to put the bad memories behind it and bring five lithographies into production in four years. Intel said that thanks to its new strategy, it can regain the position it lost to its main rival, TSMC, by 2025. In that year, we are going to see Intel 18A lithography, which is comparable to TSMC’s 3nm lithography.

Intel now says that after 18A we are going to see ultra-advanced 14A lithography. Blue Team did not provide full details about 14A, but said it plans to use ASML’s new $380 million high-NA scanners for the first time in the world and before any other company. TSMC will probably not go to High-NA until 2030 and the unveiling of 1nm lithography. It is unclear when Samsung will follow Intel’s path.

In addition to the initial unveiling of the 14A, Intel has unveiled a new naming style for the evolved versions of the Intel 3 and Intel 18A lithography. The company wants to mark the evolved versions with the three letters E, P and T. The letter E refers to increased lithography capabilities, P means improved performance, and finally T will focus on 3D stacking technology.

Intel says the Intel 3 lithography used for the company’s next-generation server-class chips will be replaced by the Intel 3T version before the end of this year. Intel 3E and finally Intel 3P will also arrive. This means that Intel plans to keep the Intel 3 lithography in the production line for at least two more years. Intel 18A will have only one evolved version: 18A-P (which will arrive before 2027).

Regarding the 14A, Intel’s roadmap shows that the 14A-E version will arrive around 2027. The company has yet to reveal any details about the differences between the 14A-E and the 14A.

Intel’s competitors are trying with all their might to make very advanced processing nodes. In its latest roadmap, TSMC said the company’s 3nm lithography will be more powerful than Intel’s 18A. TSMC will go to 1.4 nm lithography between 2027 and finally 2030.