Intel may forsake its 20A process in favor of TSMC’s 3nm process

Although Intel announced last year that its Arrow Lake CPU modules would employ the company’s 20A process technology, persistent rumors have suggested a transition towards Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s (TSMC) 3nm process. Current reports indicate that Intel has abandoned the 20A process for Arrow Lake, entrusting all of its chip production to TSMC.

The assertions made by Twitter user @Xinoassassin1 hint that Intel may forsake their 20A process in favor of TSMC’s 3nm process, and TSMC’s N3B process could potentially be a suitable candidate for the Arrow Lake CPU modules. This base version of TSMC’s 3nm process node was already operational in the latter half of 2022.

TSMC’s 3nm product roadmap also includes N3E and N3P, both offering enhanced performance and reduced power consumption. Intel’s 20A process was initially a formidable rival to TSMC’s 3nm process. However, it now appears that Arrow Lake might miss out on the homegrown 20A. According to recent statements by the Golden Pig Upgrade Pack, these rumors might indeed be accurate.

Revelations indicate that Intel’s latest roadmap no longer lists the 20A, suggesting they have shifted their focus towards seeking external foundries for Arrow Lake production. Previously, Intel had planned to utilize the 20A process for the Arrow Lake CPU modules, while the GPU modules would use TSMC’s 3nm process. The IO and SOC modules, much like Meteor Lake, might use TSMC’s 6nm process, though they could also switch to an even more advanced process. Consequently, only the basic modules might still be manufactured by Intel themselves.

To put it plainly, the Intel 20A faces further delays, resulting in all versions of Arrow Lake having to utilize TSMC’s 3nm process. Initially, there were plans to use the Intel 20A for the mobile version, while the desktop version would use TSMC’s 3nm. One could optimistically interpret this as Intel gaining greater flexibility in their layout, avoiding the stubborn adherence to the 14nm Skylake architecture due to the difficulties with the 10nm process, which caused considerable embarrassment when Rocket Lake was launched a year early.

Of course, these matters have yet to receive official confirmation from Intel, who typically do not respond to such rumors.