Setback: Broadcom allegedly not satisfied with chips from Intel's 18A process
Broadcom has its first chips manufactured by Intel using the 18A process. However, the results indicate that 18A is not yet ready for mass production.
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Intel's chip order production may have suffered a setback. It is now being reported that Broadcom, one of Intel's customers, is not satisfied with the quality of the chips produced. According to the report, Broadcom has tested Intel's modern 18A production process, but the silicon wafers supplied by the chip manufacturer show that this chip production technology is not yet suitable for mass production.
Intel Foundry is betting everything on the 18A process. With this production generation, Intel wants to take off as a chip contract manufacturer, as Intel's chip contract manufacturing has so far been a billion-dollar grave. Internally, the manufacturer only reached a milestone with the 18A process last month, as the first Intel processors are running. The chips manufactured using the 18A process, code-named "Panther Lake" and "Clearwater Forest", are already operational.
Broadcom dissatisfied after wafer inspection
However, Broadcom, an external customer of Intel's chip contract manufacturing, is apparently not satisfied with the 18A process. This was reported by Reuters about three sources familiar with the matter. According to the sources, Broadcom has tested the 18A production process with chips developed in-house and Intel delivered the first wafers last month. But after close scrutiny by Broadcom engineers and executives, the client concluded that the 18A process was not yet adequate.
Broadcom's engineers had concerns about the viability and feasibility of the 18A process, it said. This indicates that they were not satisfied with the number of defects within the delivered wafer or the quality of the individual chips. This is commonly referred to as chip yield per wafer. If this is higher than expected, production is no longer worthwhile.
Intel continues to plan 18A mass production for 2025
However, when asked by Reuters, an Intel spokesperson declined to comment on the relationship with Broadcom, stating that there is "strong industry-wide interest in Intel 18A". "Intel 18A is on, operational and delivering good results", Intel said. "We remain fully on track to begin mass production next year."
It remains unclear whether this is merely a setback for Intel Foundry, formerly known as IFS (Intel Foundry Services), or whether Broadcom is now looking for another manufacturing partner. A Broadcom spokesperson said only that the company is "currently evaluating Intel Foundry's product and service offerings and has not yet completed the evaluation."
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