Self Assembling Chips

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This microprocessor cross section shows empty space in between the chipacutes wiring. Wires are usually insulated with a glass-like material. IBM has integrated self-assembly techniques long confined to laboratories with its manufacturing lines to cr ...
This microprocessor cross section shows empty space in between the chip's wiring. Wires are usually insulated with a glass-like material. IBM has integrated self-assembly techniques, long confined to laboratories, with its manufacturing lines to create a test version of its latest microprocessors that use vacuum gaps to insulate the miles of nano-scale wire that connect hundreds of millions of transistors. The breakthrough reduces electrical interference, raises processor performance, and lowers energy consumption. Credit: IBM

In nature a phenomenon called "self assembly" is a delicate process that forms seashells, creates the enamel on teeth and transforms water into complex snowflakes. IBM Research has, for the first time ever, applied "self assembly" to create computer chips that are faster and smaller than ever before. IBM has figured out how to control and perfect the self assembly process to create trillions of tiny, nano-sized holes across a chip, which speed electrons that flow across wires inside the chip and reducing the power consumed by 15 percent. These chips will go into our everyday electronics such as cell phones, computers and gaming consoles, an advance that is set to drive the equivalent of two generations of Moore's Law.


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