Following up on halogen-free promises, Intel Corp today expanded its 45-nm portfolio with the launch of its first four halogen-free Xeon processors.

Intel in 2007 had stated it would begin removing halogen from its portfolio and took first steps to make good on that statement when it rolled out 16 45-nm processors at the January Consumer Electronics Show (CES) based on its hafnium-based high-k metal gate (Hi-k) formula.

That Hi-k formula is used in the four Xeons launched today, which the company said are drop-in compatible with existing Intel dual-processor platforms that have been in the market since 2006. In addition, all previously launched versions of the Intel Xeon 5200 and 5400 series will now be halogen-free.

While a number of large OEMs in the last year have made public commitments to become halogen-free manufacturers, some industry watchers and participants have openly disputed such moves as unnecessary and bad for design. Intel claimed, however, that its halogen-free Xeon design is both environmentally friendly and beneficial to power and performance.

“Intel continues to expand our R&D efforts in eco-innovation while delivering unmatched versatility and performance,” said Kirk Skaugen, VP and general manager of Intel’s server platforms group, in a statement. “Customers using these new Xeon processors will not only benefit from greater performance and energy efficiency within existing platforms, but they will be the very first to use Intel’s halogen-free technology.”

The quad-core Intel Xeon Processor 5400 Series consists of the new X5492, X5470, and L5430 processors, the fastest of which claims a clock speed of 3.4 GHz. The low voltage version uses 50 watts of power or 12.5 watts per core, Intel said, further noting that the dual-core Intel Xeon Processor X5270 runs at 80 watts with frequencies of 3.5 GHz.

The 5400 series processors are available now and range from $562 to $1493 in 1000 unit quantities. The X5270 will be available this fall and will be priced at $1172 in 1000 unit quantities.

Intel in its statement claimed support for the Xeons from systems vendors including Asus, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, IBM, NEC, Quanta, Sun Microsystems, and Verari Systems.