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Intel Brags About Breaking Through the 20nm NAND Barrier

Jason Barry — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:20:43 -0500

Intel working in conjunction with Numonyx unveiled breakthrough technology that will keep Moore’s Law accurate. The new process will enable non-volatile memory to cost-effectively scale down to 5nm.

Without getting too technical, the companies were able to build upon phase-change memory (PCM) and create a new technology call “phase-change memory and switch” (PCMS). PCMS integrates a new thin-film selector that effectively lets the memory/selector layers stack very densely. The nature of PCM allows it operate in two ways: quick “RAM like” bit changing, and non-volatile storage.

It is unlikely well see devices using the technology for “many years” according to Al Fazio, Intel Fellow and director of memory technology development. However, this is a key first step in continuing to scale technology according to Moore’s Law.

Moore's Law to Hit a Brick Wall at 18nm

Paul Lilly — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:00:10 -0500

Intel co-founder Gordon Moore once predicted that the number of transistors on an integrated circuit would double every 18 to 24 months, a prediction which has been famously dubbed Moore's Law. But according to market research firm iSuppli, the move to 18nm will signal the end of Moore's Law.

"The usable limit for semiconductor process technology will be reached when chip process geometries shrink to be smaller than 20nm, to 18nm nodes," said Len Jelinek, director and chief analyst, semiconductor manufacturing, for iSuppli. "At those nodes, the industry will start getting to the point where semiconductor manufacturing tools are too expensive to depreciate with volume production, i.e., their costs will be so high, that the value of their lifetime productivity can never justify it."

So when exactly will it happen? According to iSupply, in the year 2014. In 2007, Gordon Moore said his prediction could be upheld for at least another decade. Five years from now, one of them is going to be wrong.

Moore’s Law Lives Another Day With Maskless Lithography Trick

Alex Castle — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:49:51 -0500

Image Credit: Wikipedia

When it comes to Moore’s law these days, it seems like everyone’s a cynic. However, now there’s one more reason to be optimistic about the future of miniaturization, as researchers have published a paper describing a lithography technique which may provide a new means of producing chip features smaller than 32nm.

The technique involves the use of quasiparticles called plasmons to focus light at an incredibly high resolution. Chris Lee at Ars Technica describes the technology: “A lens, based on plasmons, can be created by a set of concentric metal rings. The fields from the plasmons in each ring act in such a way as to create a tightly focused spot of light. In principle, these lenses could focus light tightly enough to create features about five to ten nanometers in size.”

The problem with plasmon lenses is that they must be positioned at just 20 nm away from the wafer. The scientists claim to have overcome this hurdle with their new technique, which uses air pressure to control the lens’s distance from the wafer.

Significantly, the new technique eliminates the need to create a new photomask for each revision to the chip, potentially lowering costs and speeding up development.

Intel Executive Thinks The Lines Between Human and Machine Will Blur by 2012

Justin Kerr — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 16:23:24 -0500

Intel just passed its 40^th anniversary and the nostalgic occasion had CTO Justin Rattner musing about the future of technology. He foresees new breakthroughs in medical technologies, specifically with regards to nanoscale chips capable of moving through our bodies. Additionally, he predicts more realistic robotic intelligence, and a blurring of reality between humans and machines. Chuckle if you may, but in his 35 years at Intel, Rattner has witnessed some pretty amazing advances in technology, many of which Intel was at the forefront of. When the microprocessors first debuted in 1971 they contained about 2,300 transistors. It has since ballooned to over 820 million and the personal computer has become ubiquitous in our everyday lives. If Moore’s law holds true, and we have no reason to think otherwise, the future may indeed be a very different reality from what we understand today. According to Rattner, “In the next 40 years, computer chips will extend beyond our computers and phones, as people want to become more entrenched in virtual worlds and computers learn to react to our motions and thoughts.”

So what do you think the future holds?

No BS Podcast #35: The Songs for Murphy Edition

The Maximum PC Staff — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 16:20:21 -0500

Tom, Dave, Butters, and Jeremy get together on the 20th anniversary of the death of Jaco Pastorius to bring you the latest tech news and views. On today's program, the gang talks about

The end of Moore's Law?
Trent Reznor says, "Steal my music!"
Steam's user survey: 75 people rocking 6-inch screens!
Internet use vs. human contact!

Plus, someone writes Dave a song, tech advice from the Doctor, and much, much more.

Do you have a tech question? A comment? Email us at maximumpcpodcast@gmail.com or call our No BS Podcast hotline at 877.404.1337 x1337. Also, get your game on with the editors of Maximum PC by joining our Steam community! Play Team Fortress 2 with Will, Dave, Jeremy and all your favorite editors!

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