Posted 07/27/09 at 09:30:05 AM by Paul Lilly

AMD has been talking up its CPU/GPU combo chip codenamed Fusion for some time now, but it might not see the light of day for another three years, according to the latest rumor.

Initially expected in late 2008 or early 2009, Fusion in 45nm form was ultimately scrapped due to design challenges. The same might be happening with 32nm, says news and rumor site Fudzilla, who claims AMD has now decided to wait until it moves to a 22nm manufacturing process, currently scheduled for the second half of 2012.

That sounds like a long time to wait, especially as Intel puts the pressure on with a CPU/GPU chip of its own (Larrabee). For that reason, it's possible AMD may opt to follow in Intel's footsteps and release Fusion constructed with a 32nm IGP and CPU as two separate dies on the same chip. If AMD went this route, it could conceivably have Fusion parts ready by the second half of 2010, Fudzilla says.

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Posted 12/11/08 at 04:17:45 PM by Andy Salisbury

While it’s presently believed that 22nm will be the maximum achievable process shrink using silicon, recent discoveries might allow chip makers to cut the 2020 goal set by Moore’s Law loose.

The discoveries come in the form of a manganese-doped germanium substrate, which will allow the creation of nanowires that can be easily magnetized. The magnetizing effect is reportedly showing “the potential of using these nanowires as building blocks for electronic devices,” such as “ferromagnetism above 300 K and a superior performance with respect to the hole mobility of around 340 cm2/Vs and other industrially relevant parameters.”

So what does all this mumbo-jumbo mean? Well, in short there’s a chemical element (number 32 on the periodic table, if you’ve got one handy) that, when mixed with a magnetic field, is showing some promise for chipmakers looking to break the 22nm barrier. With any luck, in the 10 years between today and the marked date for the 22nm barricade, the research will come full circle.

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Posted 09/18/08 at 11:21:12 AM by Paul Lilly

It might not be as well publicized as Micheal Phelps' race to 14 gold medals, but there's another kind of race going on in the chip industry, and that's to see who will be the first to reach 22nm. But it might not be Intel leading the way, and instead it looks as though IBM may be emerging as the front runner.

Unlike the path to 45nm and 32nm, getting to 22nm presents some significant challenges for chip makers, one of which includes getting the circuits "printed" in a process called photolithography. As IBM engineer Subu Iyer notes, "Once the wavelength of light becomes comparable to the size of the thing you're trying to print, things break down. The challenge is to use a light wavelength of 192 nanometers because 'extreme ultraviolet' radiation is still impractical."

Iyer went on to say that in terms of physics, getting to 22nm is a tall order requiring a tremendous amount of computation. To help with that, IBM has developed what it's calling the Computational Scaling (CS) initiative, which includes support from several of IBM's partners. If nothing else, this collaboration puts added heat on Intel, who downplayed IBM's foray into 22nm earlier this summer.

Might IBM beat Intel to the punch? Hit the jump and make your prediction.

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Posted 08/19/08 at 02:51:09 PM by Chris Moody

Tom’s Hardware reports that IBM and its chip development partners (which includes AMD), revealed that they beat Intel in creating the first functional 22 nm SRAM cell. Unfortunately 22nm processors are still 3 years out. This will put the pressure on Intel to make sure it keeps its manufacturing lead.  Intel presented its first 32 nm SRAM cell wafer last September and is not expected to show 22 nm SRAM cells for another year.

While for the foreseeable future it seems likely that  Intel will remain on top in CPU performance, this announcement means that we could be looking at a shakeup within three years unless Intel starts cranking away in research. We can certainly hope for things to heat up in the processor wars again. We don’t want Intel to become complacent about it’s position in the market.

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