“In a presentation to exclusively invited reporters Friday morning, Intel announced a breakthrough development in microprocessor manufacturing that may be given historical significance in decades to come: the discovery of a new molecular compound material that will replace silicon dioxide in microprocessors using 45 nm and smaller lithographies,” Scott M. Fulton, III reports for BetaNews.
Fulton reports, “It is what both wide-eyed engineers and anxious executives have described as the “Holy Grail of semiconductor technology,” and Friday morning Intel revealed it has developed working 45 nm processor samples running Microsoft Windows Vista, Mac OS X, Linux and other operating systems, where this material – a compound based on the element hafnium, atomic number 72, a frequently occurring impurity in zirconium typically found in fake diamonds – serves as the dielectric gate between the current source and the current drain.”
Fulton reports, “With the hafnium material serving as the gate, Intel will then replace the polysilicon electrode layer with a metal electrode, the exact alloy used here also being kept secret. As a result, transistors for 45 nm semiconductors starting with Intel’s Penryn family will be fabricated at half the size of those used in today’s 65 nm Core 2 processors. At the same time, transistor switching power can be reduced by as much as 30%, while still obtaining a performance improvement of as much as 20%.”
Fulton reports, “Intel’s director of operations for its Digital Enterprise Group, Steve Smith, told reporters to expect a range of five new products using 45 nm lithography to emerge from Intel in the second half of 2007, to be released for the desktop, mobile, and server segments probably the same way the company approached its successful Core 2 Duo rollout last summer, in the following categories:”
• A dual-core notebook processor with a 35W power envelope
• A new dual-core/quad-core processor family for desktops
• A new dual-core/quad-core processor family for dual-processor servers
Fulton reports, “The exact sequence of introduction will depend on customers’ readiness, Smith added. Later, he told reporters he cannot guarantee that every motherboard currently in production for Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad processors will support these new families, though it’s possible that some may.”
Full article, highly recommended, here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “LinuxGuy and Mac Prodigal Son” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
Intel announces breakthrough ‘Penryn’ processor family; slated for production in second half 2007 – January 27, 2007
Intel processor breakthrough biggest chip advance in 40 years; coming before year end – January 27, 2007
Intel to announce processor breakthrough; new chips will run faster, consume less power – January 27, 2007
Intel pledges 80-core processor within five years – September 26, 2006
Apple chose well: Anandtech – Intel Core 2 Duo ‘the fastest desktop processor we’ve ever tested’ – July 14, 2006
Apple chose well: Intel poised to take massive lead across the board over AMD – June 07, 2006
Intel first to demonstrate working 45nm chips – January 26, 2006
Intel-based Macs running both Mac OS X and Windows will be good for Apple – June 10, 2005
Apple to use Intel microprocessors beginning in 2006, all Macs to be Intel-based by end of 2007 – June 06, 2005