14 DAY TRIAL // NVIDIA has already expressed how enthusiastic it is about its upcoming Tegra 3 chip, codenamed Kal-El, but it seems it might not be able to make the jump to the 28nm manufacturing process.
Considering that TSMC will set up its 28nm node this year, NVIDIA would have, naturally, wanted to use it for its Kal-El, said to be five times better than Tegra 2.
Unfortunately, the former will only start actual production of 28nm wafers close to the end of the year, while NVIDIA wants its Kal-El out by August.
"28nm is not available this year, not until the very end of the year. I think, for us to ship [Tegra "Kal El"] production out in Q3, we have to start wafers in early Q2, right? So, 28nm is not an option,” said Jen-Hsun Huang, chief executive officer of Nvidia, during a conference call with financial analysts, according to X-bit Labs.
“Secondly, 40nm is now in the third year of its production, and the yields are fabulous. [...] So 40nm process technology is absolutely the right approach. It is the most mature, and we can go into very high [volume] production very quickly because the yields are so great."
TSMC expects the first run of 28nm wafers to be worth about $100 million, not bad for a new process technology but not too high either. This sum may account for 2%-3% of the total Q4 revenues.
Regardless, NVIDIA possibly thinks the supply wouldn't be enough for a solid inventory of Kal-El platforms even if it did wait for commercial availability.
As it stands, Kal-El is shaping up to be a 40nm part, just like Tegra 2, meaning that the Wayne has a higher shot of utilizing the more advanced technology.
"40nm is actually more economical than 28nm this year and we will likely expect it to be so until about first half, maybe even the midpoint of next year."