Posted on Monday, September 14 2009 @ 19:42 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
Intel
revealed some details about the manufacturing advancements it's working on, more information will follow at next week's IDF.
Intel's 32nm CPU process is now certified and Westmere CPU wafers are moving through the factory in support of planned Q4 revenue production.
Intel is now advancing to the second-generation high-k+ metal gate transistor formula, giving Intel a 3+ year advantage in addressing leaky and energy IN-efficient transistors. Intel has shipped >200 million 45nm CPUs using high-k+ metal gate transistors.
For the first time, Intel has developed a full-featured SoC process technology to complement the CPU-specific technology. This version is for our smarter System on Chip (SoC) product efforts, which emphasize lower power transistors.
These advances combine to deliver record performance in terms of the highest drive current (electricity that flows when a transistor is on); the lowest leakage currents (keeping a lid on wasteful or lost electricity) and the tightest gate pitch (how closely transistors can be pack in) versus any reported 32nm or 28nm technology in the industry.
In addition, our NMOS transistors now have 19% performance improvement over their 45nm counterparts and our PMOS transistors now have a 28% performance improvement over their 45nm counterparts.
