Intel today unveiled its most advanced semiconductor process and previewed Xeon 6+ (code-named Clearwater Forest), its first Intel 18A-based 2nm data center server chip, expected to launch in the first half of 2026.
Clearwater Forest and Intel’s newly announced client processor Intel Core Ultra series 3 (code named Panther Lake) are manufactured at Fab 52, Intel’s new factory in Chandler, Arizona. At a press event last week near the Chandler fab complex, the company declared 18A to be the most advanced chip manufacturing facility in the world.
The company also extolled 18A and Fab 52 as milestones in U.S.-based chip manufacturing capabilities vis a vis the top manufacturer of advanced chips, Taiwan-based TSMC.
Images credit: Intel
“We are entering an exciting new era of computing, made possible by great leaps forward in semiconductor technology that will shape the future for decades to come,” said Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan. “Our next-gen compute platforms, combined with our leading-edge process technology, manufacturing and advanced packaging capabilities, are catalysts for innovation across our business as we build a new Intel. The United States has always been home to Intel’s most advanced R&D, product design and manufacturing – and we are proud to build on this legacy as we expand our domestic operations and bring new innovations to the market.”
Clearwater Forest is Intel’s next generation E-core processor. Branded Intel Xeon 6+, Intel said this processor is its most efficient server processor and will launch the first half of 2026.
Highlights include:
Up to 288 E-cores.
17 percent Instructions Per Cycle (IPC) uplift over prior generation.
Gains in density, throughput and efficiency.
Tailored for hyperscale data centers, cloud providers, and telcos, Intel said Clearwater Forest enables organizations to scale workloads, reduce energy costs, and power more intelligent services.
Regarding Intel 18A, the company said it is the first 2-nanometer class node developed and manufactured in the United States, delivering up to 15 percent better performance per watt and 30 percent improved chip density compared to Intel 35. The node was developed, qualified for manufacturing and began early production at the company’s Oregon location and is now ramping toward high-volume production in Arizona.
Intel 18A includes:
RibbonFET: Intel’s first new transistor architecture in over a decade, enablinggreater scaling and more efficient switching.
PowerVia: A backside power delivery system, enhancing power flow and signal delivery.
Additionally, Foveros, Intel’s packaging and 3D chip stacking technology,which the company said enables the stacking and integration of multiple chiplets into advanced SoC designs, delivering flexibility, scalability and performance at the system level.
Intel 18A forms the foundation for at least three upcoming generations of Intel’s client and server products.
Intel said Fab 52 is the company’s fifth high-volume fab at its Ocotillo campus in Chandler. Intel claims the facility produces the most advanced logic chips in the U.S. and is part of the $100 billion Intel is investing to expand its domestic operations.
“With advanced R&D and production in Oregon, high-volume fabrication in Arizona, and packaging operations in New Mexico, Intel is uniquely positioned to support key national priorities and provide strategic capacity for Intel Foundry customers,” the company said. “Fab 52 builds upon Intel’s 56 years of U.S. R&D and manufacturing advancement and marks a major milestone as the company builds a trusted leading-edge U.S. foundry for the AI era.”
