Intel 18A-P node moves into risk production for Xeon ‘Diamond Rapids’

Intel unveiled Intel 18A-P at the VLSI Symposium in Hawaii, positioning the foundry node as a refined version of Intel 18A for its next-generation Xeon ‘Diamond Rapids’ server processor. The company said the node has entered risk-production and is designed to deliver a 9% increase in performance at iso-power, along with an 18% power reduction at iso-performance.

The process update also targets physical design and reliability improvements, including a 20-40% improvement in die-level thermal resistance and a 10-30% improvement in Via resistance in performance-critical layers. Intel added cell options across its 180HP and 160HD libraries, introducing W1 and W1.5 cells for low-power designs and a W3P cell for high-performance products. The W3P cell uses a dual contact design to raise performance without exceeding the footprint of the existing W3 cell.

Thermal gains come from a new heat-conducting material integrated on the front side of the die. Intel also updated its EDA tools to support thermally-aware layouts, giving designers more control over heat dissipation at the structural level.