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Intel Creates 30-Nanometer Transistors

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the wouldn't-cover-the-head-of-a-goose dept.

SirFlakey writes: "It appears Moore's law has been proven right yet again. According to a report in Fairfax's IT section, Intel has managed to create the world's smallest transistor(s). This, according to the article would allow them to create CPU's with 10 times (420 million) the P4's transistor count. The transistors are only 3 Atoms thick(!). They say they have come close to the limit of modern technology but also still have plenty of innovation left for the future. This annoucement comes only a few days after it released an earnings warning for this quarter."

5 of 190 comments (clear)

  1. It doesn't add up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5

    The lattice constant (distance between the center of adjacent atoms) in silicon is 5.43 angstroms. Thus one would assuem that 30nm (300 angstroms) is actually about 55 atoms thick.
    Most likely the 30nm refers to the gate length and the 3 atom reference was a 'misguided' measure of the gate dielectric thickness. The reason I say misguided is because dielectrics tend to be molecules not atoms. Although 3 molecules is thin, such thicknesses have already been reported before.
    So much spin. But I guess it makes sense since IEDM (International Electron Device Meeting) is occurring soon and everyone loves to get excited about the newest small transistors.

  2. Great... by Arcanix · · Score: 4

    It expects to sell 400 million-transistor processors able to do 400 million calculations in the time it takes to blink.

    Thanks for telling us the calculcations per blink, that's a real useful measurement system.

  3. Haven't you noticed? Faster CPU=Slower Boot by localroger · · Score: 4
    For whatever reason, the faster the CPU is the slower the machine boots. Back in the 8-bit no-mass-storage days our machines booted instantly. Then they took seconds. Then they took minutes. Now they take several minutes. Two more generations from now, if your power fails you will have to wait 2 days for your machine to reboot (hell, it takes almost that long now if it decides to run scandisk or whatever).

    The inverse proportion even runs to metaphors. I remember an ad or article or something a few years ago about how this speed-demon new CPU stole the poor engineer's coffee break -- well, now he'll get it back while the damn thing reboots. Maybe with a vacation thrown in for lagniappe.

    --
    Brackets contain world's first nanosig, highly magnified:[.]
  4. Fluctuations! by BlowCat · · Score: 5

    Customer: Your program crashes randomly. It must be a bug.
    Support: It's not a bug. It's a quantum fluctuation.

  5. How will they manufacture them? by taniwha · · Score: 5
    traditional etch/deposition system works by leaving putting on a layer (in this case 3 atoms thick) then etching off the stuff you don't want.

    What I can't see is how one can lay down anything 3 atoms thick (or wide) reliably (in the sense of real-world mass manufacture, not one of a time in-the-lab productions) using scaled versions of existing Fab tachnologies and without some nano-assembler type technology. Worst case you'll get 3 atoms somewhere in the middle of the wafer and maybe 5 or 0 at the edges ....

    This sort of tech will come one day - but I beleive it's going have to be by revolution, not evolution ....