Intel has recently announced that it is shifting its focus from creating high-performance CPUs to more energy-efficient processors.
The different approach comes after Intel made a name for itself in building fast and reliable central processing units (CPUs).
William Holt, Intel's head of technology and manufacturing, underlined the new direction that his company plans on taking during the Solid State Circuits Conference in San Francisco. He was very direct in his declaration.
"The new technology will be fundamentally different," Holt says.
At least two reasons could explain the shift in Intel's strategic planning.
On one hand, the demand for tinier, energy saving items is on the rise. Smartwatches are a big market niche that requires it, but there is also the Internet of Things to consider. Almost every household item from light bulbs to refrigerators and washing machines needs microprocessors, and Intel has all the assets to become their core provider.
On the other hand, Intel's timeline and manufacturing process were in for a revamping for some time.
The Tick-Tock model, which used to alternate architecture redesigns and die shrinks, grew out of fashion and is no longer efficient. This means that every new die size takes longer than the previous, and there is little prospect of the trend reversing.
There is also a chance that quantum mechanics holds the answer to the revolution that Intel is preparing for. Two distinct methods could help the OEM manufacture less energy-intensive processors.
The first is tunneling transistors, meaning that the device uses the electron interference in order to provide more stable signals, at a smaller size. Interestingly enough, both the industry consortium Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) take interest in the tunneling technology and offer funding research to those that push the technology forward.
The second is a novel technology called spintronics that makes use of the position of an electron around an atom to catch a magnetic moment. Electronics companies already use spintronics in high-end hard drives that rely on magnetic random access memory for data storage.
The fact that spintronics are dependent on the quantum state of electrons is both a blessing and a curse for the technology to be used in processor manufacturing. Research shows that graphene, the new wonder-material based on extremely thin carbon sheets, could be essential to creating stable spintronics-based devices.
However, it should be mentioned that neither of the two technologies are prepared to enter volume production stages.
Spintronics is somewhat more advanced inasmuch as we might see concept chips appear shortly. Other names in the tech industry, such as Toshiba, already manufactured an SRAM chip that relies on spintronics.
When Intel starts implementing one of the two (or maybe both) options in its future chips, we expect to see a small drawback in terms of speed.
Performance losses will most likely be compensated by further development, and chips that will rely on spintronics or tunneling will end up benefiting from insignificant power-usage and decent to high performance.
The big tendency in the market is to focus on mobile devices and home appliances, and Intel seems highly motivated to gain a foothold in the market before everyone else.
