Friday, December 22nd 2023
IBM Demonstrates a Nanosheet Transistor that Loves 77 Kelvin—Boiling Point of Nitrogen
IBM, at the 2023 IEEE International Electron Device Meeting (IEDM), demonstrated a concept nanosheet transistor that posts a near 100% performance improvement at the boiling point of nitrogen, of 77 Kelvin (-196 °C). Given how relatively industrialized and scaled out the manufacture, safe transport, storage, and use of liquid nitrogen is, this development potentially unlocks a new class of chips that attain top performance under liquid nitrogen cooling. Think a new generation of AI HPC accelerators that can instantly double their performance under LN2, provided a new kind of cooling solution is developed for data-centers.
Nanosheet transistors are the evolutionary next step to FinFETs, which have been driving semiconductor foundries since 16 nm, which could see their technical limits met at 3 nm. Nanosheets are expected to make their debut with 2 nm-class nodes such as the TSMC N2 and Intel 20A. At an operating temperature of 77 K, IBM's nanosheet device is claimed to offer a near doubling in performance, due to less charge carrier scattering, which results in lower power. Reducing scattering reduces resistance in the wires, letting electrons move through the device more quickly. Combined with lower power, devices can drive a higher current at a given voltage. Cooling also results in greater sensitivity between the device's on and off positions, so it takes lesser power to switch between the two states, resulting in lower power. This lower power means that transistor widths can be lowered, resulting in higher transistor densities, or smaller chips. As of now IBM is wrestling with a technical challenge concerning the transistor's threshold voltage, a voltage which is needed to create a conducting channel between the source and the drain.
Source:
IEEE Spectrum
Nanosheet transistors are the evolutionary next step to FinFETs, which have been driving semiconductor foundries since 16 nm, which could see their technical limits met at 3 nm. Nanosheets are expected to make their debut with 2 nm-class nodes such as the TSMC N2 and Intel 20A. At an operating temperature of 77 K, IBM's nanosheet device is claimed to offer a near doubling in performance, due to less charge carrier scattering, which results in lower power. Reducing scattering reduces resistance in the wires, letting electrons move through the device more quickly. Combined with lower power, devices can drive a higher current at a given voltage. Cooling also results in greater sensitivity between the device's on and off positions, so it takes lesser power to switch between the two states, resulting in lower power. This lower power means that transistor widths can be lowered, resulting in higher transistor densities, or smaller chips. As of now IBM is wrestling with a technical challenge concerning the transistor's threshold voltage, a voltage which is needed to create a conducting channel between the source and the drain.
26 Comments on IBM Demonstrates a Nanosheet Transistor that Loves 77 Kelvin—Boiling Point of Nitrogen
I can still see a major leak in an enclosed space being dangerous or even fatal to people, though, if it displaces most of the oxygen.
I'd also be concerned about what the liquid nitrogen will do to whatever it spills into, such as the ground or other pipes. At the temperatures it has to stay at to remain liquid, it could potentially cause infrastructure damage just by freezing everything in the vicinity.
This is all theoretical because I don't imagine LN2 will become available for commercial housings but let's not be completely dumb and say that just because air contains nitrogen, we can breath in any amount of nitrogen without harm. That's dumb even by American schooling standards.
I am not a maths expert by any mean but going up by like 660 thousand times in volume in a relatively short amount of time will lead to massive damage. It's basically an explosive. Not as explosive as nukes but still.
Costly? Thats where the rub is :D Its a lot of mechanical effort to drive that sort of refrigeration cycle and keep up the gas pressures to constantly feed gaseous nitrogen into it.Chernobyl would like a word :D
So there is really no reason for someone to be worried about being asphyxiated from LN2.
I am curious to see if this helps with things where People say RAM/Cache doesnt benefit from the smaller nodes. Would it be a way of stacking cache so instead of extra die space being taken up with extra cache all they do is stack it with this new tech meaning core sizes remain small.
Would be really interesting for perhaps making x3d almost obsolete?