Intel's 18A-based processors successfully boot operating systems and are expected to enter full-scale production in 2025.

Intel announced on the 7th that its flagship products based on the Intel 18A process, 'Panther Lake', an AI PC processor, and 'Clearwater Forest', a server processor, successfully booted the operating system.

Both of these products achieved this milestone within two quarters of tape-out and are scheduled to enter full-scale production in 2025.

Intel also added that it expects its first external foundry customer to tape out Intel 18A-based products in the first half of next year.

Kevin O'Buckley, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Intel Foundry Services, said, “Intel is pioneering various system foundry technologies for the AI era and is providing the innovation needed for next-generation products for Intel and foundry customers across the board. We are encouraged by this progress and are working closely with customers to bring the Intel 18A to market in 2025.”

Last July, Intel released the 18A Process Design Kit (PDK, Process DesignIntel has released gn Kit 1.0. This design tool enables foundry customers to utilize the Gate-All-Around (GAA) transistor architecture 'RibbonFET' and back power supply technology 'PowerVia' on Intel 18A. Electronic Design Automation (EDA) and Intellectual Property (IP) partners are updating their products to help customers begin final production designs.

This milestone demonstrates that Intel Foundry is the first foundry to successfully implement both RibbonFET, a GAA transistor technology, and PowerVIA, a back power supply technology, for its foundry customers. Leveraging ecosystem EDA and IP tools and process flows, Intel Foundry delivers these innovative technologies to all customers through Intel 18A. Equipped with resilient, sustainable, and reliable manufacturing capabilities and supply chains, as well as industry-leading advanced packaging technology, Intel Foundry provides all the elements necessary to design and manufacture next-generation AI solutions. This enables the implementation of next-generation AI solutions that scale and operate more efficiently.

By successfully booting the operating system without additional configuration or modification, Panther Lake and Clearwater Forest clearly demonstrate the stability of Intel 18A, the cutting-edge process technology that Intel is expected to use to regain process leadership in 2025.

The fact that Panther Lake DDR memory performance is already operating at target frequencies also supports this stability. Clearwater Forest, set to launch next year, serves as the prototype for future CPUs and AI chips, offering enhanced density and power efficiency as the industry's first high-performance, mass-production solution combining RibbonFET, PowerVIA, and Foveros Direct 3D.

In addition, Clearwater Forest is a key product based on Intel 3-T base die technology. By leveraging Intel Foundry's system foundry approach, both products are expected to achieve significant improvements in performance-to-power consumption, transistor density, and cell utilization.