Intel working on much more efficient, cooler transistors

Posted on Tuesday, April 07 2009 @ 0:45 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
Intel researchers are working on a new type of transistor that consumes only one tenth of the power of today's transistors:
Intel recently disclosed advancement details on a P-channel transistor, built on a silicon substrate, that makes use of compound semiconductors, also known as III-V materials because they are made of elements that straddle silicon in the periodic table, silicon being in column IV. This research resulted in the highest performing P-channel transistors reported to date. A year earlier, Intel described III-V N-channel transistors, also built on a silicon substrate. When combined, these two results could form the building blocks for CMOS logic circuits, which use both N-channel and P-channel transistors. Potentially suitable for future microprocessors, they run far cooler - at about ½ the voltage, consuming only 1/10th the power of today's transistors.


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Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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