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Intel has confirmed today that it will build a third generation of processors on its 14nm process, and that the switch to 10nm manufacturing has been delayed until the second half of 2017, showing the challenges that Moore's Law is under and bringing an end to the company's "tick-tock" strategy.

Since 2007, Intel has been operating on a staggered release schedule that alternates manufacturing process shrinks—"ticks"—with major microarchitectural improvements—"tocks." For example, the current generation Broadwell processors are a "tick," being the first processors built on the 14nm process. Later this year Intel will release the first Skylake processors; these will continue to be built on 14nm, but will contain a range of architectural improvements, and as such are a "tock."

The original plan was for Skylake to be succeeded by Cannonlake. This was to be the next tick; the processor architecture would be minimally changed, but the manufacturing process would switch to 10nm. In a call to shareholders after announcing its financial results today, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich confirmed that this plan has been derailed. The migration to 14nm was more challenging than anticipated, and there were issues too with the previous migration to 22nm.

Transitioning to 10nm isn't expected to be any better, so Intel is extending the timelines. Cannonlake is being pushed back, from 2016 to the second half of 2017, and in the interim, a third "lake" generation processor will be released in 2016. Like Skylake, this processor will continue to use the 14nm process. News of this processor appeared to leak last month along with its full name: Kaby Lake. Little concrete is known about Kaby Lake, but it's likely to be available in a range of lines from a 4.5W laptop part up to 80W dual-socket server and workstation parts.

Krzanich indicated that this may not be the end of tick tock forever and that a more regular two year-per-process timeframe was still the long-term desire, but Intel's difficulties and changed plans show the continuing challenges with keeping pace with Moore's Law: the rule of thumb coined by Intel's Gordon Moore that transistor density will double every 18 to 24 months. Future processes require more complex manufacturing and more exotic technology—IBM recently demoed a 7nm chip, though the commercial viability of this manufacturing process is less than clear—so these delays may become a common feature of the future.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/07/intel-confirms-tick-tock-shattering-kaby-lake-processor-as-mo...