Higher processor performance, with greater power efficiency, is promised by Intel"s research in transistor design, writes Alun Williams.
As opposed to traditional "flat" transistors, Intel suggests a future for a 3D design. Transistors, of course, are the mini On-Off switches that are combined to build microprocessors.
According to researchers, the "triple-gated transistor design" raises the transistor above its silicon base, allowing electronic signals to travel on top and along both vertical sidewalls. The analogy which Intel uses is that a one-lane road is turned into a three-lane highway, without using more space.
Essentially, the new technology develops the management of transistors within smaller spaces. The key inhibitor to miniaturisation is leakage of current, which means increasing power is required for correct functioning, which in turn can generate unacceptable levels of heat...
The new design revels in the title of "high performance non-planar tri-gate architecture".
No Intel story is complete without a reference to Moore"s law, which states that chip capacity will double every couple of years. And the significance of the latest findings is that it will help Intel fulfil this law, even as the industry hits the barriers of how it is physically possible to manipulate signals in silicon.