Intel's 18A‑P Process Enters Risk Production Phase

According to foreign media reports, Intel has announced that the upgraded version of its 18A process node, 18A-P, has officially entered the risk production stage.

Risk production refers to a production stage in the semiconductor industry that commences prior to the final qualification phase, after confirming the feasibility of future product deliveries to customers based on yield and quality data accumulated to that point.

Intel Foundry Vice President Chris Auth stated that the 18A-P process is currently in good shape, and that this risk production milestone indicates readiness to move into the mass-production phase.

The 18A-P process is based on the 18A node that entered mass production in the fourth quarter of last year, and is optimized for manufacturing data-center CPUs as well as semiconductors for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing (HPC). 

Compared with 18A, the 18A-P offers up to a 9% performance improvement at the same power consumption, and can reduce power consumption by as much as 18% at the same performance level.

In addition, Intel plans to use 18A-P to produce its "Diamond Rapids" CPU chips, which are expected to be released next year.