IBM unveils a 7nm chip

[Frick]

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/07/ibm-unveils-industrys-first-7nm-chip-moving-beyond-silicon/

First, the facts and figures. This is a 7nm test chip, built at the IBM/SUNY (State University of New York) Polytechnic 300mm research facility in Albany, NY. The transistors are of the FinFET variety, with one significant difference over commercialised FinFETs: the channel of the transistor is a silicon-germanium (SiGe) alloy, rather than just silicon. To reach such tiny geometries, self-aligned quadruple patterning (SAQR) and EUV lithography is used.

It's not a functioning chip though, it seems it's just a bunch of transistors on a chip.

 

[64K]

Interesting times ahead. Intel will be moving away from silicon at 7nm. Possibly using indium gallium arsenide.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015...d-to-10nm-will-move-away-from-silicon-at-7nm/

I remember reading a while back that some material to replace silicon could possibly be clocked up to 100 GHz but I don't remember what it was. imo radically faster cores beats more and more cores.

 

[Frick]

Slightly related:

www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/anton-shilov/asml-sells-15-euv-lithography-scanners-possibly-to-intel/

So yeah the next few years shall be interesting.