IBM Breakthrough To Lead To Faster TransistorsIBM Breakthrough To Lead To Faster Transistors

IBM says new technology it's developing could lead to faster, more efficient microprocessors later in the decade. The company last week revealed that recent breakthroughs in the development of so-called double-gate transistors will pave the way for transistors that carry twice the electrical current and operate at twice the speed of conventional transistors.

Transistors act as an electrical on/off switch and are a key component in all integrated circuits. The gate regulates electrical flow through the transistor. As transistors become smaller, it becomes more difficult for a single gate to control the switching. In a double-gate transistor, the channel is surrounded by two gates, doubling the control of the current and enabling smaller, faster circuits. IBM has patented its approach to building double-gate transistors, a concept that isn't new to the microprocessor industry but which presents formidable challenges to chip designers.

The breakthrough was made possible in part by IBM's recent development of a new insulation material for transistors, says Scott Crowder, program manager for logic technology development at IBM microelectronics. Known as silicon on insulator, the material lets transistors be packed more closely together without interfering electrically with each other. IBM expects to begin selling chips that use double-gate transistors in the latter half of this decade.

The technological advance will help IBM's microprocessor manufacturing business, which is part of a $13 billion technology unit within the company, remain competitive with rivals such as Intel and Cirrus Logic.

Despite the breakthroughs, IBM's chip business isn't immune to the current technology slump. In the third quarter, IBM said sales of microelectronics products, including chips, plunged 30% compared with the second quarter. And the company last week said it would cut 4.6% of jobs, about 1,000 workers, at several of its chip plants.

That's no surprise, Technology Business Research analyst Bob Sutherland says. "The semiconductor market," he says, "is very slow and will remain that way for the short term."