10nanometer

10 nanometer, commonly written 10 nm, refers to a semiconductor process technology node describing a family of manufacturing processes that followed the 14/16 nm generation. Node names are largely marketing labels tied to targets for density, performance, and power rather than a fixed physical dimension. 10 nm processes typically use FinFET transistors and require advanced lithography and materials.

Industry adoption began in the late 2010s. Apple used a 10 nm FinFET process from TSMC for its A11 Bionic (2017). Samsung produced mobile chips on 10 nm FinFET around the same period. Intel developed a 10 nm family, with products like Ice Lake; early efforts such as Cannon Lake faced delays and limited volume. By the end of the decade, multiple vendors offered 10 nm production, though the market shifted toward smaller nodes.

Technical characteristics include FinFET transistors and increased transistor density, yielding improvements in performance per watt. Lithography relied on deep ultraviolet with multi-patterning in many cases; EUV was not universal across all 10 nm implementations, differing by vendor. Exact details varied, reflecting the non-standardized nature of node definitions.

Context: 10 nm sits between older 14/16 nm processes and the later 7 nm and 5 nm generations. In modern industry, node names are less tied to precise dimensions and more to marketing and roadmap signaling. As fabrication technology advanced, the practical distinctions among nodes became more marketing-driven while enabling continued scaling.