IBM Scientists Find New Way to Shrink Transistors
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Re: IBM Scientists Find New Way to Shrink Transistors
#2> By simply swapping carbon nanotube transistors for conventional ones in a
> simulated IBM microprocessor, they were able to increase speeds by a factor
> of seven or, alternatively, achieve power savings almost as significant, said
> Wilfried Haensch, an IBM physicist who is a member of the research group.
In technology, one often comes across the use of the word "simply" to refer to something that's actually quite complicate (see the Druid docs[0]) but this is quite a doozy.
[0] http://cse.google.com/cse?cx=004325268462231820898:e4htgtatb...
Re: IBM Scientists Find New Way to Shrink Transistors
#3> By simply swapping carbon nanotube transistors for conventional ones in a > simulated IBM microprocessor, they were able to increase speeds by a factor > of seven or, alternatively, achieve power savings almost as significant, said > Wilfried Haensch, an IBM physicist who is a member of the research group. In technology, one often comes across the use of the word "simply" to refer to something that's actually quite…
It's crazy to think that a major breakthrough like this with a factor of seven increase in transistor density is little more than four years of progress as measured by Moore's Law.
Re: IBM Scientists Find New Way to Shrink Transistors
#4> By simply swapping carbon nanotube transistors for conventional ones in a > simulated IBM microprocessor, they were able to increase speeds by a factor > of seven or, alternatively, achieve power savings almost as significant, said > Wilfried Haensch, an IBM physicist who is a member of the research group. In technology, one often comes across the use of the word "simply" to refer to something that's actually quite…
It's crazy to think that a major breakthrough like this with a factor of seven increase in transistor density is little more than four years of progress as measured by Moore's Law.
> It's crazy to think that a major breakthrough like this with a factor of seven increase in transistor density is little more than four years of progress as measured by Moore's Law.
In a single step, by switching to an experimental new process. It seems likely that, if that process pans out, it'll then get years of extensive refinement to improve both yield and density.
Re: IBM Scientists Find New Way to Shrink Transistors
#5The real challenge with CNTFETs is mass production. Without that, the roadmap doesn't budge.
Re: IBM Scientists Find New Way to Shrink Transistors
#6Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's crazy to think that a major breakthrough like this with a factor of seven increase in transistor density is little more than four years of progress as measured by Moore's Law.
> It's crazy to think that a major breakthrough like this with a factor of seven increase in transistor density is little more than four years of progress as measured by Moore's Law. In a single step, by switching to an experimental new process. It seems likely that, if that process pans out, it'll then get years of extensive refinement to improve both yield and density.
I don't know about that. They were talking about line widths of 40 atoms. Another four years (factor of seven improvement) takes you to 6 atoms; another four years (factor of 7 improvement) takes you to one atom. At that point you're not talking about a "carbon nanotube" any longer - it's just a row of carbon atoms, and you still can't improve it any further.
I mean, yes, there will be process improvements. The article talked about 28 atoms as the next step. But there are fundamental limits, and they aren't very far away...
(I could be overstating the case here, in that transistor density may scale as the square of the line width, rather than linearly with it. The point about fundamental limits still stands, however.)
Re: IBM Scientists Find New Way to Shrink Transistors
#7The space smallest space between chemical synapses is ~20nm. It helps put the size of these transistors in perspective.
Re: IBM Scientists Find New Way to Shrink Transistors
#8Coming out in 2016. Moore's Law. The suspense movie with a surprise twist that you never saw coming.
Re: IBM Scientists Find New Way to Shrink Transistors
#9I feel like this headline could read "Moore's Law To Be Kept Alive For Slightly Longer".
Re: IBM Scientists Find New Way to Shrink Transistors
#10> By simply swapping carbon nanotube transistors for conventional ones in a > simulated IBM microprocessor, they were able to increase speeds by a factor > of seven or, alternatively, achieve power savings almost as significant, said > Wilfried Haensch, an IBM physicist who is a member of the research group. In technology, one often comes across the use of the word "simply" to refer to something that's actually quite…
It's crazy to think that a major breakthrough like this with a factor of seven increase in transistor density is little more than four years of progress as measured by Moore's Law.
Moore's Law is a harsh mistress.
Countless breakthroughs have already been marshalled to bring us where we are. More are the order of the day.