Intel has made significant progress in the development of its next-generation technology, Intel 4, with the successful generation of 13.5 nanometer wavelength light at its Fab 34 facility in Ireland. The facility’s EUV lithography system, manufactured by ASML, is a key element of the Intel 4 process technology and is considered one of the most complicated pieces of machinery ever built. It has taken 18 months of design and construction to prepare the Fab 34 building to receive the system, which consists of 100,000 parts, 3,000 cables, 40,000 pins and more than a mile of hoses.

The achievement marks a key milestone on the road to high-volume production of Intel 4 technology and is the first time a high-volume EUV scanner will be used in Europe. Intel 4 technology is expected to be used in products such as Meteor Lake in 2023, having already passed its crucial manufacturing readiness milestone in the second half of 2022.