Friday, July 3rd 2026
Intel Solves 18A Yield Issues, Production Reaches 30,000 Wafers Per Month
Intel has reportedly resolved all yield issues it experienced with its 18A node over the past few months. According to the sell-side equity research firm BlueFin Research Partners, Intel has fixed these yield issues, making the high-volume production of its latest node sustainable from both a manufacturing yield and economic standpoint. Readers may recall that late last year, Intel confirmed that 18A yields were improving by about 7% per month over several months. This trend continued into the launch of the first 18A product, codenamed "Panther Lake," up until today, when the yield issues have reportedly been resolved. For a mature node, this usually means defect rates of D0=0.1 or D0=0.2, and it is likely that Intel has now achieved the lower end of that spectrum with the node advancements and months of 18A high-volume production.
Regarding manufacturing capacity, the report notes that Intel's 18A is produced at two sites: Fab 52 in Phoenix, Arizona, and another in Hillsboro, Oregon. These fabs currently produce about 30,000 wafers per month with the 18A printing. This capacity is currently sufficient for Intel's internal production, such as the "Panther Lake" processors, but additional capacity will be needed for other internal products.
For the remaining nodes, Intel has started 18A-P risk production at the D1X site in Oregon, with plans to transfer the 18A-P node to Fab 62 for long-term high-volume manufacturing. Early 14A results from sample production show a promising path to success, and Intel plans to use the D1X fab for initial high-volume production, with Ohio sites for the second 14A high-volume manufacturing. For external customers, Intel's offerings will focus mainly on 18A-P, 18A-PT, and the upcoming 14A node, which will begin risk production in 2028, with high-volume production slated for 2029.
Source:
via Jukan05 on X
Regarding manufacturing capacity, the report notes that Intel's 18A is produced at two sites: Fab 52 in Phoenix, Arizona, and another in Hillsboro, Oregon. These fabs currently produce about 30,000 wafers per month with the 18A printing. This capacity is currently sufficient for Intel's internal production, such as the "Panther Lake" processors, but additional capacity will be needed for other internal products.
58 Comments on Intel Solves 18A Yield Issues, Production Reaches 30,000 Wafers Per Month
I hope Samsung manages to get someone to do the same for them
that means consumers are still going to be suffering from sticker shock
it's a better node than intel 3, allows for high clocks and lower power use / less heat.
it will leave more room for other companies to order from tsmc and bring costs down for intel.
For 18a, this is as expected. Regarding the yield and break-even time, as well as the corresponding products, intel said so a long time ago.
Intel fired Pat Gelsinger to cut manufacturing investments and reduce risk. The 2 14a fabs were delayed after this. In hindsight, this looks extremely short-sighted. It could have been used to produce more Apple SoCs and reduce Apple's reliance on tsmc.