Intel Corp. has disclosed more details about its 45-nm process, saying it is one of the first chip makers to implement high-k dielectrics and metal gates into the technology. Using an undisclosed thick hafnium-based material for its high-k films in gate-stack applications, Intel claims that it is able to boost the overall performance, while also reducing transistor leakage by more than 10 times over current silicon dioxide technology.
Intel"s 45-nm process, dubbed P1266, is said to incorporate copper interconnects, low-k dielectrics, strained silicon and other features. Intel said it will use a new material with a property called high-k, for the transistor gate dielectric, and a new combination of metal materials for the transistor gate electrode. NEC Corp. and IBM Corp. have both disclosed they are moving high-k into production.
""As more and more transistors are packed onto a single piece of silicon, the industry continues to research current leakage reduction solutions. Our implementation of novel high-k and metal gate transistors for our 45-nm process technology will help Intel deliver even faster, more energy efficient multi-core products that build upon our successful Intel Core 2 and Xeon family of processors, and extend Moore"s Law well into the next decade,"" said Mark Bohr, Intel Senior Fellow.