In integrated circuits, the stepping level or revision level is a version number that refers to the introduction or revision of one or more photolithographic photomasks within the set of photomasks that is used to pattern an integrated circuit.
Typically, when an integrated circuit manufacturer such as Intel or AMD produces a new stepping (i.e. a revision to the masks), it is because it has found bugs in the logic, has made improvements to the design that permit faster processing, has found a way to increase yield or improve the "bin splits" (i.e. create faster transistors and thus faster CPUs), has improved maneuverability to more easily identify marginal circuits, or has reduced the circuit testing time, which can in turn reduce the cost of testing.
[3] Many integrated circuits allow interrogation to reveal information about their features, including stepping level.
[citation needed] The Intel Core microarchitecture uses a number of steppings, which unlike prior microarchitectures not only represent incremental improvements but also changes to features, such as a different cache size or the addition of low-power modes.
Most of these steppings are used across brands, typically involving features being disabled or clock frequencies being reduced on low-end chips.