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IBM researchers create first chips using 7nm process
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Jul 10, 2015, 04:56 PM
 
IBM has reached a new milestone in the processor manufacturing industry, by producing the first chips using a 7nm process. The new chips will be able to fit more than 20 billion transistors onto a chip the size of a fingernail, far more than possible using current 14nm and upcoming 10nm production processes, with the potential for the chips to not only be more powerful, but also more efficient than those of previous processor generations.

IBM Research, the SUNY Polytechnic Institute's Colleges of Nanotech Science And Engineering, GlobalFoundries, and Samsung, among others, worked on the project, which created the test chips, reports Ars Technica. Using a FinFET design for the transistors, the team had to use some unusual techniques to achieve the goal.



For a start, the chips produced are different from commercial versions, as it uses silicon-germanium instead of standard silicon. Self-aligned quadruple patterning (SAQR) and Extreme UV lithography was also used to work within the reduced size. For their efforts, the researchers managed to get a "close to 50 percent" surface area reduction compared to 10nm processes, with the companies involved aiming for at least a "50 percent power/performance improvement" over 10nm when in commercial production.

While the breakthrough is major, it is unlikely to affect consumers anytime soon. Current chips use the 14nm processes, with 10nm processors expected to start shipping next year, and it may take a few more years before anyone will be able to buy a device with a 7nm processor.
     
chucker
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Jul 10, 2015, 06:43 PM
 
pretty cool - its good to see Moore's Law has a few more generations to go
     
Charles Martin
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Jul 11, 2015, 02:37 AM
 
This is really exciting news from the point of view of energy efficiency, particularly. A few years from now, we will scoff that our notebook and smartphone batteries only got "all day" usage. Given the number of computers and mobile devices in use, this will have a significant planetary energy-reduction impact from the remarkable efficiencies already realised compared to the earlier generations of notebooks (I'm thinking 90s and early 2000s here).
Charles Martin
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coffeetime
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Jul 12, 2015, 12:00 AM
 
There's no way we stop where we are. Nothing is impossible. There are always room for improvement. Nokia took their success for granted and literally stopped pushing the envelope. Can you imagine caveman stops at when the wheel is invented?
     
jpellino
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Jul 12, 2015, 12:06 PM
 
"7's the key number here. Think about it. 7-Elevens. 7 dwarves. 7, man, that's the number. 7 chipmunks twirlin' on a branch, eatin' lots of sunflowers on my uncle's ranch. You know that old children's tale from the sea. It's like you're dreamin' about Gorgonzola cheese when it's clearly Brie time, baby. Step into my office."
Just sayin'
     
   
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