Intel Atom to go 22nm in 2013

Bit Tech reports Intel plans to bring 22nm tri-gate transistor technology to its Atom SoCs in 2013. According to Intel senior fellow Mark Bohr, the transition to a 22nm tri-gate process will enable the Atom SoCs to outperform the current 32nm parts by between 20 to 65 percent, leading to a choice of increased increased performance at the same TDP, reduced power consumption, or a mixture of the two.

Unveiled at the annual International Electron Device Meeting late yesterday, Intel's next-generation SoCs will work on tempting device makers into using Atom chips rather than ARM designs through a process shrink from 32nm to 22nm and the implementation of tri-gate transistor technology. Currently, tri-gate transistors are found only in Intel's Ivy Bridge products, where they provide a significant boost in efficiency - providing, as the situation requires, reduced power demands or increased performance over planar transistor designs.

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Intel's announcement comes with a vague time-scale attached, promising mass-production of the parts before the end of 2013. Sadly, it does not come with a mention of which chips will be benefiting from the technology upgrade - meaning eager smartphone consumers will need to wait for more details before planning out their mobile x86 purchases if they want to take advantage of tri-gate technology.