Chip boost from AMD/IBM
Firms announce new method of manufacture to boost performance
AMD and IBM have announced a new method of chip manufacturing that will boost performance and power efficiency for chips used in notebooks and PCs.
The companies, which have been working on advanced chip research for a year, have claimed they have developed a unique 'strained silicon' transistor technology.
The new manufacturing method gives transistors a 24 per cent boost in performance. AMD and IBM are planning to introduce the technique on all 90nm processors.
Faster processors are built using greater numbers of smaller transistors. Although smaller transistors run faster, they also generate more heat because of electrical leakage and inefficient switching. The new process - Dual Stress Liner - enhances the performance of both negative and positive transistors by stretching and compressing the silicon atoms in them.
Both companies have said the technique is not expensive and aim to prove it by introducing it on new processors early next year.
AMD will integrate strained silicon technology into all of its 90nm processor platforms, including its future multi-core AMD64 processors, starting in the first half of 2005. IBM will be doing the same on its 90nm processors in the same timeframe.
"Innovation has surpassed scaling as the primary driver of semiconductor technology performance improvements," said Lisa Su, vice-president of technology development and alliances at IBM Systems & Technology Group.
"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."
Dirk Meyer, executive vice-president of computation products group at AMD, said: "Innovative process technologies such as strained silicon enable AMD to deliver more value to our customers.
"Our shared progress in developing advanced silicon technologies allows AMD to deliver today's best performance per Watt, and this strained silicon development is expected to extend that leadership when we begin shipping the dual-core AMD Opteron processor in mid-2005."
Separately, AMD has reduced the thermal output of its new Opteron server processors by 25 per cent. The 90nm Opterons, released without any announcement last week, now consume 67W of power, as opposed to the 89W used by the existing 130nm processors.
The new Opteron 146, 246, 248 and 846 are single, dual, and four-way processors, with clock speeds ranging from 2GHz to 2.2GHz.