Intel is making adjustments to its production equipment so that advances in the design and manufacture of 10nm chips can take place in less time. The current model of production lines will last until November, but from then on, three lines of work will share progress in the development of chips.
This production change coincides with the replacement of the Head of Manufacturing and Technology of Intel, Sohail Ahmed, who will leave the company after retiring at the end of November. Sohail Ahmed will be leaving this role, having assumed his current position in 2016.
We know the news after the publication of The Oregonian. This article reveals the change in the production system in three sub-groups: technology, manufacturing and supply chain. In this sense, the managers who will assume the positions are: Mike Mayberry, in technology. Fabrication will be led by Ann Kelleher, who has experience as a helper on Ahmed's stage. The supply part will be coordinated by Randhir Thakur. This entire area will have as responsible and coordinator Venkata Renduchintala, currently director of engineering and senior manager of Intel.
It is costing the company more than expected the transition of the chips from 14nm to 10nm. The delays in the forecasts have been constant, to the point of serving few units and with few variants. The first announcement of the making available to customers of the 10nm chips by Intel dates from 2016, when we are finishing 2018. The current forecast is 2019, but without specifying more in relation to a specific date.
Among the possible problems of intel, it goes through a demand exceeding the production capacity, a fact that would have led Intel to outsource chip manufacturing to TSMC. Instead, the latter seems to be ahead of him with the 7nm chip manufacturing for current iPhones. The advantage in using the 10nm or 7nm chips lies in lower consumption, lower temperature, and maintaining performance.
