Israeli researchers at Intel have achieved a breakthrough in chip development that will enable computers to operate at 10 times the current speed.
In a development that promises to change the world of computing and telecommunications within five to 10 years, the electro-optic chips developed during the past year and a half at Intel"s Jerusalem facility will replace the standard electronic chips used for communications between computer components. This will allow this communication to be conducted at the speed of light - 10 times the current speed.
Intel, the world"s largest chip maker, has been operating in Israel since 1974, and has 5,200 employees at its four main development centers in Jerusalem, Haifa, Kiryat Gat and Petah Tikva.
According to a report in Ha"aretz, the Israeli team for the first time succeeded in developing electro-optical chipsets based on silicon wafers capable of converting electronic signals to optic signals within the chip. They have the potential to be mass-produced at the same cost as standard electronic chips. Currently, the manufacturing cost of an optical chip which is not made from silicon runs into hundreds or even thousands of dollars.