(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Following a paper published earlier this year , Intel has provided more details on its optimized 18A-P process at VLSI 2026. The performance-optimized node is an enhancement of 18A that Intel is using in products like Panther Lake and Xeon 6+ , promising a 9% improvement in performance at the same power, or an 18% reduction in power consumption at the same performance level. In addition to greater technical detail, Intel has revealed that 18A-P has entered risk production.

Go deeper with TH Premium: Chipmaking

If you’re unfamiliar with that term, it’s the stage of semiconductor manufacturing just before high-volume mass production. It’s a low-volume manufacturing stage where Intel will produce full wafers of 18A-P on a standard production line, just with a limited scope to gather data on defect rate, performance, and variability before full production begins.…