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Intel’s research and development of 3D
technology will allow significantly greater
numbers of transistors to be packed into
once processor, whilst retaining a
diminutive size. This comes by means of
their development of ‘Tri-Gate’ technology,
allowing current to flow across three sides
of a transistor as opposed to just one as
was previously the case.
"For years
we have seen limits to how small transistors
can get," claimed Gordon Moore, founder of
Intel in a statement following the company’s
announcement. "This change in the basic
structure is a truly revolutionary
approach." |
"This change in the basic structure [of of
Central Processing Units] is a truly
revolutionary approach."
Gordon Moore
Founder, Intel |
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More than Moore's Law
In 1965 Mr Moore wrote an influential paper
on transistor technology, "Cramming more
components into integrated components". In
this study he predicted that, judging by the
rate transistor technology had been
advancing since 1958 until this time, the
number of transistors that developers could
fit onto a chip would approximately double
every other year.
Moore’s
predictions indeed came into fruition, and
Moore’s Law, a phrase coined by professor
Carver Mead in 1970 to refer to this theory,
soon became a benchmark that companies
sought to adhere to, providing focus in
their research and development of transistor
technology.
Mark Bohr, Senior Fellow
at Intel, claimed that the company’s
innovation would, in fact, go as far as to
surpass this yardstick. "This milestone is
going further than simply keeping up with
Moore’s Law," he proclaimed. "The
low-voltage and low-power benefits far
exceed what we typically see from one
process generation to the next".
Elbowing its way into ARM territory
Following the announcement, British
processor producer, ARM, saw its share
values take a hit, with prices swiftly
dropping by 7.7% as Intel’s quickly soared
by 1.3%. The Cambridge-based company, who
earlier this year were reported to have
secured a massive contract for Windows 8
ahead of Intel, has recently enjoyed major
wins in the processor market, particularly
in the tablet and smartphone sectors.
Judging by their standing on the FTSE index
in the wake of Intel’s statement, ARM’s
success looked to be under threat.
However, ARM’s stocks quickly regained
ground the following day, jumping back up by
3%, and experts predict that ARM can put its
feet up and relax – for now at least.
For whilst Intel’s technology will
indeed have a significant impact upon the
processor market, in the near future it will
mainly be supplying chips for PCs and
servers. Although Intel will be keen to
stamp its mark on this sector, there is
significant work they will need to do before
they can challenge ARM’s dominance in the
mobile market.
"The issue is: can
[Intel] come up with a processor that is
sufficiently power-efficient to be
competitive in the mobile computing space?"
challenged analyst Adrian Bommelaer.
So ARM’s stronghold on the mobile devices
market is unlikely to waiver for a while.
Will Intel be able to move quickly enough to
steal its crown?
"Remember,"
continued Bommelaer, "ARM is also improving
its own power efficiency."
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