Intel has unveiled new technology that could boost the performance of its 10nm processors by as much as 20 percent. The so-called Superfin technology node introduces a refined Finfet design that features better drive current and improved channel mobility, as well as a new SuperMIM (metal-insulator-metal) capacitor that offers a five times capacitance increase. Together, these innovations can improve performance up to 20 percent, “the largest intra-node jump ever in our history,” Intel’s chief architect Raja Koduri told Reuters.
The announcement comes at a time when Intel is trying to recover from a heavy beating. The processor maker last month revealed that 7nm manufacturing yields are one year behind schedule, squashing all hopes that it could catch up to process technology leader TSMC. In a counterattack, Intel seeks to hammer home the message that node shrinks aren’t the only progress that semiconductor technology can make.
The first Superfin chips – codenamed Tiger Lake – to hit the market are slated for release in the fall.
