2004-12-13

Semiconductor Breakthrough: Processor 24 per cent faster | Technology on The Earth times

Semiconductor Breakthrough: Processor 24 per cent faster | Technology on The Earth times
Your processor can now run 24% faster at the same power levels based on the new strained silicon transistor technology, as claimed by IBM and AMD today. The New technology was named as “Dual Stress Liner”. It improves the performance of p and n channel transistors by stretching silicon atoms in one transistor and compressing them in the other transistor. New production techniques are not required, standard materials and tools can be used for volume manufacturing. AMD and IBM have jointly developed this technology; stained silicon has been made to work for the first time with silicon on insulator technology, resulting in high performance at low power. AMD’s executive vice president Dirk Meyer said "Our shared progress in developing advanced silicon technologies allows AMD to deliver today's best performance per watt." Strained silicon technology would first be integrated into all 90nm processor platforms. The multi core AMD 64 processor would also use this technology. 90nm AMD 64 would enter the market in mid 2005. IBM’s Power Architecture based chips would use this technology, products schedule for shipping in mid 2005. Lisa Su, VP Technology development & alliance at IBM and Technology Group said “Innovation has surpassed scaling as the primary driver of semiconductor technology performance improvements, this achievement with AMD demonstrates that companies willing to share their expertise and skills can find new ways to overcome roadblocks, and help lead the industry to the next generation of technology advancements”