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http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2384909,00.asp
May 4, 2011 04:07pm EST
Intel announced today that its upcoming Ivy Bridge processing platform, which will be based on a 22-nm version of its second-generation Core (aka Sandy Bridge) microarchitecture, will also utilize a new transistor technology called Tri-Gate.
The company says that Tri-Gate transistors, the first to be truly three-dimensional, mark a major change in the way the industry has done things for 40 years, and could revolutionize it. Here's a quick glimpse at some of the most important facts and figures about Tri-Gate transistors, and what they will mean for PCs in 2011 and beyond.
1.) Tri-Gate explained. The Tri-Gate technology gets its name from the fact that transistors using it have conducting channels that are formed on all three sides—two on each side, one across the top—of a tall and narrow silicon fin that rises vertically from the silicon substrate. On a traditional two-dimensional, or "planar," transistor, the gate runs just across the top. But on the vertical fin, transistors can be packed closer together. This provides enough extra control to allow more transistor current to flow when the transistor is on, almost zero when it is off, and gives the transistor the ability to switch quickly between the two states. This maximizes both power usage and performance.
2.) Why? According to Intel, Tri-Gate was implemented because it would not have been possible to continue Moore's law at 22nm and below without a major transistor redesign. With Tri-Gate transistors, Intel claims to have extended Moore's law at least another two years.
3.) How small is it? A nanometer is one-billionth of an meter. That means that more than 6 million 22nm Tri-Gate transistors could be crammed into the period at the end of this sentence. By contrast, a human hair is approximately 100,000 nanometers wide.
4.) How much? (And how little?) Intel estimates that Tri-Gate transistors are 37 percent faster than those used in the current 32nm process and will effect an active power reduction of more than 50 percent, but will only add 2 to 3 percent to the cost of a finished wafer.
5.) Some upgrades required. Intel will need to make upgrades to its factories over 2011 and 2012 to get them ready for producing the large quantities of 22-nm chips necessary to drive its many devices for the near future. (To give you an idea of the scale, Intel's factories currently produce about five billion transistors every second—or 150 quadrillion per year.) The company says, however, that the actual changes being implemented will not be more significant than have been required for previous process improvements.
6.) How long will it last? Representing the latest "tick" in Intel's two-stage development cycle (the Sandy Bridge microarchitecture was the most recent "tock"), these Ivy Bridge innovations will be around in some form for at least the next two years. But Intel promises that the technology will be able to scale to its next production process, at 14-nm, so don't be surprised if it extends well beyond that.
7.) Tri-Gate is not new. Intel research scientists first invented the Tri-Gate in 2002, but it's taken them until now to get chips using it ready for high-volume production.
8.) Where will you see this technology? Intel says that Ivy Bridge–based processors are ideal for both servers and clients, the latter particularly in thin-and-light form factors (such as desktops and nettops), and that the technology is expected to scale to Intel's Atom line of CPUs as well, allowing for their usage in an even broader range of systems. But with such low power usage, smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices would seem to be not just possible, but likely. (Unfortunately, Intel isn't yet saying when these will hit the market, although devices that don't necessarily require a carrier - such as tablets - will likely be first.)
9.) When will Ivy Bridge arrive? You can expect to see processors and devices using them by the end of 2011, with product shipping in early 2012.
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http://www.technewsworld.com/story/72387.html?wlc=1304553916
Intel Busts Out of the Gate With 3D Transistor
By Erika Morphy
TechNewsWorld
05/04/11 3:47 PM PT
Intel says its new transistor technology will fuel Moore's Law for years to come, but Moore's Law wasn't running out of gas, contends tech analyst Nathan Brookwood. "There are a lot of ways to skin a cat in terms of power and performance. So the other guys will also be offering competitive products over the next few years and three, four years from now the rest of the industry will have figured out how to make 3D transistors."
Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) has reported a major technological breakthrough in microprocessor development: the world's first 3D transistor. The Tri-Gate transistor will continue the steady delivery of computing products that are ever more powerful, ever cheaper and ever smaller, the company said.
Intel has also previewed a 22-nanometer node microprocessor code-named "Ivy Bridge," which will be the first high-volume chip to use Tri-Gate. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter.
Reinventing the Transistor
What Intel has done is reinvent the transistor structure by using a a thin three-dimensional silicon fin that rises up vertically from the silicon substrate, unlike the two-dimensional planar transistor structure currently in use.
The current is controlled by gates on each of the three sides of the fin, rather than just one on top.
These gates are in part responsible for the expected power and performance advances with the new chip: They keep the current flowing as strongly as possible when on, and as little as possible when off.
On the left side is the 32nm planar transistor in which the current (represented by the yellow dots) flows in a plane underneath the gate. On the right is the 22nm 3D Tri-Gate transistor with current flowing on 3 sides of a vertical fin.
Intel did not respond to TechNewsWorld's request to comment for this story.
Commercial Breakthrough
The company has come up with an important innovation, said Nathan Brookwood, an analyst with Insight 64.
Until now, the integrated circuit's transistors on the silicon wafer typically would lie flat.
"We have gotten to the point where the transistors are so small they are starting to have trouble conducting the current," Brookwood told TechNewsWorld.
What Intel has done is rotate the transistor -- so instead of lying flat, it now stands up vertically, he explained. It is able to conduct the current more efficiently, allowing Intel to double the number of transistors on a chip.
This feat has earned Intel some bragging rights.
"This is another proof point of Intel's leadership in technology," Roger L. Kay, president of Endpoint Technologies Associates, told TechNewsWorld. "Their 3D transistors are a collaborative, robust architecture that will minimize leakage and allow for the easier switching between the on and off states of the transistor."
Perhaps more importantly, it will allow for much smaller features, he said.
Indeed, that seems to be the use case Intel has most in mind. The 22nm 3D Tri-Gate transistors provide up to a 37 percent performance increase at low voltage compared to 32nm planar transistors. They also consume less than half the power at the same performance level as 2-D planar transistors on 32nm chips.
That is the beauty of what Intel has developed, Charles King, principal of Pund-IT, told TechNewsWorld. In fact, the idea of a 3D transistor has been around since 2003 -- certainly, Intel has discussed it before.
"What they have done, though," said King, "is develop a process by which they can create commercial products -- and that is what the big deal is."
The chips will make Intel competitive in power-sensitive applications and devices such as smartphones and other handhelds, he noted -- an area Intel has been trying, with limited success, to penetrate.
Saving Moore?
While crediting Intel with achieving a significant development, Brookwood suggested that Moore's Law wasn't in immediate danger of expiring.
"Yes, Intel is way ahead of any other semiconductor manufacturers in terms of being able to use this technology, but that doesn't mean other chipmakers will be shut out of the market or won't deliver similar advances," he said.
"They might not be as far along, but they can come close. There are a lot of ways to skin a cat in terms of power and performance," said Brookwood. "So the other guys -- like IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Global Foundries -- will also be offering competitive products over the next few years and three, four years from now the rest of the industry will have figured out how to make 3D transistors -- if they want to."
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