AMD May Pick 7nm Over 10nm For Next Node

As part of the recent amendment to their Wafer Supply Agreement with Global Foundries, AMD has dropped some hints for their future plans. So far inextricably linked with their old semiconductor fabs, the company has partnered with Global Foundries to make better use of and research the 14nm and 7nm nodes. 10nm, the node between 14nm and 7nm is however noticeably absent.

The absence of 10nm as part of the Wafer Supply Agreement makes a lot of sense as Global Foundries has stated that they will not be working on 10nm at all. Instead, after 14nm has run its course, the semiconductor foundry will jump straight to 7nm. As the only historical supplier for CPUs, this means AMD  may also be moving straight to 7nm as well, skipping past Intel which will have a pit stop at 10nm. Perhaps Global Foundries is thinking they get a head start and also save some research and development costs.

The big question, of course, is whether or not Global Foundries will manage to make 7nm in a decent time frame. By skipping 10nm and staying on 14nm till 7nm is ready, this opens up room for competitors to get to 10nm before AMD gets to 7nm, meaning AMD will continue to have a process disadvantage. Perhaps this is why AMD amended their agreement to let them buy from non-GF foundries. This may offer them a way out if they choose to get 10nm from TSMC or Samsung for instance if Global Foundries takes to long to get to 7nm.