Samsung has announced that its 8nm FinFET process, 8LLP, has officially reached production-ready status. The latest advancement promises 10 percent lower power consumption and an equal reduction in area size, in comparison to its previous iteration, 10LPP, thanks to a new 'narrower' pitch design.
The new process will provide benefits to semiconductors that are aimed at networking, cryptocurrency, and mobile applications, among several other use cases that require high-performance output and efficiency.
Beyond that, the company boasted that this new process was the most competitive and advanced, ahead of its own 7nm EUV variant, and that it was expecting that production based on the process should 'ramp up' significantly to provide the stable yield that is required for mass-production.
Qualcomm Senior Vice-President RK Chunduru shared his thoughts on the new production process:
“8LPP will have a fast ramp since it uses proven 10nm process technology while providing better performance and scalability than current 10nm-based products”
FinFET, simply put, is a process that allows chip makers like Samsung to build semiconductors in a 3D plane, which saves space and improves efficiency. Earlier this year Samsung noted that it was 'on track' to start mass-production of its 10nm FinFET chips, which is now being used in its smartphones and other products.
Intel, in comparison, recently delayed its 10nm Cannon Lake processor range to the end of 2018, which caused some manufacturers to contemplate skipping the upcoming 8th-generation chip altogether, which uses a 14nm++ FinFET process, opting for the upcoming 9th-generation Ice Lake range instead.
Source: Samsung
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