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IBM Creates World's Fastest Semiconductor Circuits

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the it's-only-a-model-shhh dept.

Todd Heidesch writes: "'IBM announced it has created the world's fastest semiconductor circuit, operating at speeds of over 110 GigaHertz (GHz) and processing an electrical signal in 4.3 trillionths of a second.' IBM expects the new technology to be pumping out 100 gigabit/sec network switching chips by the end of the year (on an optimistic schedule, I presume)." dr_zeus contributes a link to this Reuters article running on Wired (also fairly thin) on the release, writing: "Granted, this isn't a PC chip, but one wonders how long it will be before we hear 'dude, you've got a 110GHz Dell!'"

4 of 240 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Hitting the Physical Limits by SuiteSisterMary · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Almost makes you wonder if we'll move away from the 'big CPU, big whack of RAM' model to the 'bunch of little bitty CPUs, each with their own whack of RAM, and they do their own thing' model.

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  2. 110GHZ circuit != 110GHz chip by MobyDisk · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The article does not clarify what is exactly running at 110GHz - it says a "circuit". Is it a single transistor? Or a series of transistors? Does that include wiring? It is a common misconception that a 110GHz transistor produces a 110GHz chip. A 110GHz transistor would likely produce a 1GHz chip.

    1. Re:110GHZ circuit != 110GHz chip by dhovis · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It is more than a transistor. The article at the NYTimes (I'm too lazy to link right now), said that IBM had previously anounced a transistor which could switch at 260 GHz and this anouncement is simply the next step, an entire circuit, but probably not a whole CPU.

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  3. Real EEs please enlighten us by Bobba+Mos+Fet · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This article is crap. If you're a real EE who knows about this stuff, please enlighten the rest of us by answering some questions: 1. I'm a little confused. Did IBM demonstrate a networking chip that runs at 110 GHz? Or did they merely demonstrate a ring oscillator type circuit? 2. I was under the impression that, to reach such high speeds, you need something like an HBT. Am I right? Is this circuit based on HBTs? 3. If this circuit is based on HBTs, then why are people talking about Pentiums and Athlons? No way in hell you could implement a VLSI (or rather an ULSI) circuit with HBTs. Am I missing something?