ZDNet UK / News and Analysis / Workspace IT / Processors

IBM reaches chip milestone

By John G.Spooner, CNET News, 16 December, 2002 08:31

Daily Newsletters

Sign up to ZDNet UK's daily newsletter.

Topics

Hardware, IBM, Intel, Processor, process, Nanometre, 90

NEWS
IBM will announce Monday that it has passed another milestone on the road toward adopting an improved process for manufacturing semiconductors. The company will announce that it has begun work on its first 90 nanometre chip, a "field programmable gate array" processor that Big Blue will manufacture for chip designer Xilinx. Moving to a 90 nanometre chipmaking process means smaller transistors, which in turn means more transistors on a chip and better performing chips. IBM's current generation of semiconductors is built using a 130 nanometre manufacturing process -- the nanometre measurement refers to the average size of features inside chips produced via the process, features such as transistors and the interconnects that link them. IBM, which recently received the design specifications for the FPGA chip from Xilinx, should begin producing test versions of the chip during the first quarter, said Michael Concannon, vice president of foundry services, IBM Microelectronics. Between then and now, IBM will perform interim steps, such as designing manufacturing tools needed to produce the chip. "The target here -- given that everything is finalised on the design side -- is to begin (full-on) 90 nanometre production in the second half of 2003," Concannon said. Unlike PC processors, FPGA chips can be programmed to perform several different duties. They're often used in devices that sell in markets where standardised equipment hasn't been agreed on, an IBM representative said. That way, if proposed standards change, a design doesn't have to be thrown out; the chips can simply be reprogrammed. Such markets include communications, consumer electronics and other areas where standards are fluid. The transition to a 90 nanometre process is a major undertaking for IBM, which spent about $2.5bn (about £1.6bn) to build its newest manufacturing plant, in East Fishkill, New York. IBM and Intel will be among the first chipmakers to ship chips built using a 90 nanometre process. Intel has been building test chips using such a process since last February. The company plans to begin shipping its first 90 nanometre processors in large quantities to PC makers and consumers during the second half of next year, a company representative said. In addition to performing better, new 90 nanometre chips -- such as the Xilinx FPGA, future IBM PowerPC chips or a forthcoming Pentium 4 chip from Intel dubbed Prescott -- will also be smaller and less expensive to produce than their predecessors. The Xilinx FPGA will be 50 percent to 80 percent smaller than the current FPGAs and is expected to cost between 30 percent and 70 percent less, according to IBM. Moving to a new manufacturing process typically lowers power consumption as well. But continuing to make the same sort of gains will get harder as time goes by, chipmakers admit. As companies design smaller chips with more transistors, they face the prospect of increases in power consumption and major electrical interference from extra transistors. Anticipating those future problems, Intel, IBM and others are turning to research. IBM and Intel have adopted or invented several new manufacturing tricks to address these issues in future manufacturing steps, such as an envisioned 65 nanometre process. Such tricks will include the more extensive use of new materials, the adoption of manufacturing techniques such as Silicon on Insulator and strained silicon, and more exotic measures like the creation of multigate transistors.
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

'Strained silicon' to pump up chips

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

GHar123

I totally dislike pirating of works, I fear that artists will be deterred from creating works if they think that they are going to get ripped off....

1 hour ago by GHar123 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
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...

7 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...

9 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...

9 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...

10 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...

11 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...

12 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...

12 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...

12 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...

13 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...

13 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,...

14 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...

14 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...

14 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...

17 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...

18 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...

18 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...

20 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....

21 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"?

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

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