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Intel Foundry Services (IFS) this week soft-launched their new Intel 16 process technology, a 16nm-class node that will be used for the production of low-power chips for everyday workloads. The updated legacy node, derived from Intel’s existing 22FFL process tech, is aimed at cost-conscientious customers who are producing simpler chips that don’t require the performance offered by cutting-edge process nodes. Set to compete against nodes such as TSMC’s N12e, budget nodes like Intel 16 typically see wide use in a variety of fields, ranging from aerospace and defense to IoT and radios.
First revealed by Intel a couple of years back, the ramp-up of Intel 16 comes as IFS is in the process of expanding its foundry offerings in order to offer the full range of process nodes that chip designers have come to expect from a contract fab. While not at the forefront of fab discussion as cutting edge nodes are, trailing-edge and mature process nodes are still used to produce a vast number of chips year after year, often simple chips that need few upgrades and may end up in production for a decade or longer.
TSMC, for its part, earns around 25% of its revenue by making hundreds of millions of chips using 40 nm and larger nodes.
