According to a report on ExtremeTech and DigiTimes, Intel is looking to outsource some of its 14nm chipset fabrication work to TSMC. Thanks to production woes in Intel’s own foundry, the fabrication of its lower-end H310 is set to be contracted to the Taiwan-based foundry.
Numbers being shared shows that demand for 14nm products saw a 50% drop. This is not too surprising, as Intel is gearing up for its move to the 10nm production process. It is noted that Intel is also facing a short-term capacity crunch thanks to the move.
This is not Intel’s first foray with TSMC. The company’s Atom-based SoFIA 3G chipset as well as its wireless modem that is heading to Apple’s iPhones are all made by TSMC. Of course it is interesting to note that TSMC is also producing AMD products under the same roof.
At the same time, the same report also states that Intel’s 10nm production may not be ready before the third quarter of 2019. While initially planned to debut as its Cannon Lake CPU, development of the 10nm fabrication process has been pushed back several times. The current 14nm process is Intel’s longest running process in its production history, and it may extend a few more months unless the company can speed up the 10nm production press adoption.
(Source: ExtremeTech, DigiTimes)
