Intel’s introduction today of the world’s first 3D transistors is more than just a tech breakthrough. It’s an assurance that Moore’s Law – that the number of transistors on an integrated circuit doubles every year – will stay alive just a while longer. More »
Moore’s Law is mention anytime there’s an advancement in processing speeds, and that may keep happening for another 75 years. Physicists are speculating that, assuming Moore was right, we’ll max out on processing speed at that point. More »
Optical lithography is the secret sauce in the fabbing technology that makes the chips inside your computer, and a clever bunch at the University of California, Berkeley have worked out a new adaptation of the tech to produce chips that could be ten times more detailed. It basically combines a hard-disk-alike spinning platter and scanning head with a metal lens to focus UV light onto smaller spots: by rotating a chemically treated silicon wafer beneath the head, you can achieve far more precise chips than using a photo mask.
McGill University researchers have discovered a new state of matter to go along with good ol’ solid, liquid, gas, plasma and a handful of quantum states–it’s called a quasi-three-dimensional electron crystal. While the name sounds like something that would sap Superman’s powers, this new state of matter could be used to fabricate modern transistors and continue Moore’s Law… possibly indefinitely.
