Intelhas showcased its first 32
nanometer (nm) chips and says the first chips using the faster and
more energy-efficient technology will go into production in
2009.
At this week's
Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, Intel CEO Paul Otellini
also described the near-term advantages computer users will
experience with Intel's upcoming 45nm family of Penryn processors,
which are based on Intel's high-k metal gate transistor
technology.
The industry's first 45nm processors will be available from
Intel in November. The company also demonstrated for the first time
the next-generation chip architecture codenamed Nehalem, due out
next year.
When Intel introduces
Penryn in November, it will be the world's first high-volume
45nm processor.
Penryn, along with the Silverthorne family of 45nm processors
(available next year) will have the small feature size, low-power
requirements and high-performance capabilities to meet a wide
variety of computing needs, from handheld internet computers to
high-end servers.
Intel will quickly ramp up the technology with plans to
introduce 15 new 45nm processors by the end of the year and another
20 in the first quarter of 2008.
"We expect our Penryn processors to provide up to a 20%
performance increase while improving energy efficiency," said
Otellini.
Looking to 2008, Otellini made the first public demonstration of
Intel's Nehalem processor, and said the company is on track to
deliver the new processor design in the second half of the
year.
The Nehalem architecture is designed to improve performance and
performance-per-watt benchmarks, and will be the first Intel
processor to use the QuickPath Interconnect system
architecture.
Quickpath will include integrated memory controller technology
and improved communication links between system components to
significantly improve overall system performance.
Otellini showed the world's first 300mm wafer built using
next-generation 32nm process technology.
Intel's 32nm test chips incorporate logic and memory (static
random access memory - SRam) to house more than 1.9bn transistors.
The 32nm process uses the company's second-generation high-k and
metal gate transistor technology.