ZDNet UK / News and Analysis / Workspace IT / Processors

Intel unveils new chip manufacturing technology

By Michael Kanellos, CNet, 13 August, 2002 07:39

Daily Newsletters

Sign up to ZDNet UK's daily newsletter.

Topics

Intel, Investment, production process

NEWS
Intel will increase the performance of its microprocessors next year, in part by spreading out its silicon atoms. The Santa Clara, California-based chipmaker will use "strained silicon" -- or silicon where the atoms in the chip's silicon base are spaced further apart than normal -- in its chips made on the 90-nanometre manufacturing process, according to Mark Bohr, director of process architecture at Intel. Chips made on the 90-nanometre process, Intel's first products of the nanotechnology era, will also feature new insulating techniques, smaller internal components and other advances. Prescott, the code name of the chip that will succeed the Pentium 4, will be the first 90-nanometre chip and will arrive in the second half of 2003. "By stretching the silicon, we can make the electrons move faster" inside the chip, he said. "The basic effect has been demonstrated on large transistors, but there were always doubts that you could achieve the benefits on small, high-performance transistors." Tinkering at the atomic level is becoming a daily issue for chip manufacturers. For decades, chip manufacturers have steadily shrunk the size of transistors and chips by following Moore's Law, which dictates that the number of transistors on a chip doubles every two years. Moore's Law has worked so well, though, that engineers now find themselves butting up against the laws of physics. The gate oxide on chips made on the 90-nanometre process, for instance, which separates the sub-elements of a transistor, will measure only five atoms across. Technically, these chips can be classified as nanotechnology parts because their components will measure less than 100 nanometres across. Designing chips that work and can be manufactured profitably at this level requires more leaps of creativity than in the past, especially when it comes to managing power inside these devices, according to designers and engineers. Fast chips generally require greater amounts of energy. Increased electricity, though, can be detrimental to performance. To navigate the contradictory demands, Intel redesigned the insulating materials, replacing a silicon-based material with a carbon one, between different layers of the chips with the 90-nanometre chips, Bohr said. The chips will also contain seven, rather than six, layers of transistors like current chips. Stretching the silicon, he added, will increase current flow 10 percent to 20 percent, but increase cost only 2 percent. Chips made on this manufacturing process will be faster than today's microprocessors, but contain far more transistors. Prototype SRAM (static RAM) chips, a type of memory, produced by Intel contain more than 330 million transistors in a 100-millimetre square space, Bohr said. About 120 billion transistors will fit on a standard 300-millimetre wafer. Chips made on the 90-nanometre process will first come from the company's fabs in Oregon and later from the facilities in Ireland and New Mexico, which are geared more for mass production. Although more advanced than current chips made on 130-nanometre manufacturing techniques, the 90-nanometre chips manufacturing process will allow the company to re-use about 75 percent of today's equipment, Bohr said. "This ensures that we will have a high-volume manufacturing ramp next year," he said. The 90-nanometre manufacturing process, though, isn't a panacea. Chips made on this process will be more subject to gate leakage, or random energy dissipation, a phenomenon that can reduce battery life and other problems, Bohr said. Coming up with a system for manufacturing 65-nanometre chips in 2005 will be even more difficult. "Shrinking it (the gate oxide) to 65 nanometres is going to be pretty tough," he said.
See Chips Central for the latest headlines on processors and semiconductors. To find out more about the computers and hardware that these chips are being used in, see ZDNet UK's Hardware News Section. Have your say instantly, and see what others have said. Go to the Chips Central Forum. Let the Chips Central editor know what you think by email. And sign up for the weekly Chips Central newsletter.

Related stories

Intel's Banias: Not built for speed

AMD looks to ARM itself for low-power tablets

Apple tops list of semiconductor buyers

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

  • Login

Will not be displayed with your comment

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

JCB33

How dare film makers, artists or anybody that invests in creativity stop us pirating their works for free. I want to be able to walk into my local...

4 hours ago by JCB33 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
Moley

@GrueMaster. I prefer horses for courses rather than one size fits all. I, and I suspect most other computer users, do not really wish to have...

6 hours ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
greycynic

The product that scares me every time I have to use it is the Office 2007 version of Excel. The first bug that I found was applying the median...

6 hours ago by greycynic on Ten flawed products that derail productivity
GrueMaster

Nice review and very informative. One thing I'd like to add (in reply to whs001's 1st question), the main reason to have the same interface from...

7 hours ago by GrueMaster on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Frederick Wrigley

I'be been using Mint 12 since the RC came out, and I am far more happy with the Cinnamon, the Mate, and, yes (with extensions), theGnome 3...

8 hours ago by Frederick Wrigley via Facebook on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
bdantas

Excellent article. One small correction, though--although a fresh installation of Linux Mint 12 will, indeed, provide the user with a version of...

9 hours ago by bdantas on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

9 hours ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

9 hours ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material
Moley

For Gnome 2 die-hards, it is possible to add icons to the bottom panel (or top top panel, if you prefer) which provide the exact Gnome 2...

10 hours ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
ramwellian

Your comments would seem pretty naive and immature. Your 'solution' appears to be, "gee, let's all just give in to the hackers and give them...

10 hours ago by ramwellian on Cloud computing security: no more oxymoron?
BugStalker

"Interesting thought ... If you installed Win7 as a dual boot on a machine that previously only had Linux, and it wrecked your Linux installation,...

11 hours ago by BugStalker on Windows 7 Declares War on GRUB
whs001

This is an excellent summary of Ubuntu and Mint and the interface differences between them. Most such articles take a very partisan position for...

11 hours ago by whs001 on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Moley

@ewallace. Not so clear. Anyone can obtain the text, for example from here http://www.ustr.gov/webfm_send/2379. I support ACTA so long as it and...

11 hours ago by Moley on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions
45283

I think WinRT is fantastic. I just wish it was an option for people that didn't want to go through Microsoft's App Store with its attendant...

14 hours ago by 45283 on Why Windows 8 needs architectural hygiene for WOA
Burn-IT

Nine people? £30m? Who's back pocket is that lot going in? And IF they say it is for new buildings, what about all the ones the government has...

15 hours ago by Burn-IT on Police set to launch three £30m e-crime hubs
ewallace

Just to be clear, nobody knows what is in the text of ACTA, here is a photograph of the text of ACTA http://twitpic.com/8h9iju as submitted to the...

15 hours ago by ewallace on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions
fgvrg56

Unfortunately main issue is that ASUS is refusing to accept that they make some mistake on this version of asus Transformer prime. 1 - GPS sensor...

17 hours ago by fgvrg56 on Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime Wi-Fi & GPS problems?
Ben Woods

@Marcus A fair question. Just talked with Archos which said it was working on an announcement for next week....

18 hours ago by Ben Woods on Archos confirms G9 Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule
Marcus Karlsson

Any update on this, considering the claimed "first week of February"?

19 hours ago by Marcus Karlsson via Facebook on Archos confirms G9 Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule
apexwm

Bill Goodrich : Just as al_langevin pointed out, with Windows Server 2008 there is no Services for Macintosh anymore. It's gone, not available....

1 day ago by apexwm on Windows Server 2008 drops the ball for Mac compatibility

Latest in Processors

AMD looks to ARM itself for low-power tablets

Apple tops list of semiconductor buyers

Featured white papers

Tech breakthroughs to watch in 2012

ZDNet UK

Tech breakthroughs to watch in 2012

From invisibility cloaks to virtual atom smashing, from Cern to Nasa, this ZDNet UK guide presents the discoveries to watch in... Read more

10 must-read silicon.com Cheat Sheets

silicon.com

10 must-read silicon.com Cheat Sheets

This exclusive e-book covers 10 of the most important issues facing business and technology professionals today, from cloud computing to... Read more

The virtual presenter's handbook

Citrix Online

The virtual presenter's handbook

Web seminars or webinars can be interactive and engaging, just like having every person in the same room, and this white paper outlines how they can benefit your... Read more

Inside ZDNet UK

A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

2012 Predictions: VCE FastPath, VI SAN Probe & Hadoop

2012 Predictions: VCE FastPath, VI SAN Probe & Hadoop

BlackBerry Bold 9790

BlackBerry Bold 9790

Case study: How cloud enables growth

Case study: How cloud enables growth

Ten factors that make Ubuntu 11.10 a hit

Ten factors that make Ubuntu 11.10 a hit

Toshiba Portégé Z830-10P Review

Toshiba Portégé Z830-10P Review

BT's archive: Pictures from the vault

BT's archive: Pictures from the vault