Intel finishes work on 32nm chip process
updated 07:40 am EST, Wed December 10, 2008
Intel Wraps 32nm Process
Intel today said it has completed its development work on 32 nanometer manufacturing for its processors. The method introduces a second-generation high-k metal gate as well as new approaches to making patterning layers and transistors, all of which result in a more energy-efficient and thus cooler technology than for Intel's current 45nm chips. Shrinking the process keeps the company on schedule for introducing a new, smaller manufacturing technique each year.
The development should let Intel produce significantly more complex processors and will be especially important for smaller devices such as Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) and netbooks, according to the company. A recently leaked roadmap points to Intel's Atom line including a 32nm part known as Medfield that would result in an all-in-one processor small enough to fit in tighter spaces such as smartphones while also bolstering performance.
Intel anticipates shipping the first processors built on 32nm technology to appear in late 2009. Historically, the firm implements such advances first with desktops and transitions to notebooks.
