IBM and Samsung have together announced their latest advancement when it comes to semiconductor design. This newest advancement is a new way to stack transistors vertically on a chip instead of just laying them flat on the surface.
The stacked transistors could mean higher power for smartphones, which will then allow them to have longer battery lives.
Vertical Transport Field Effect Transistors Design
According to the story by The Verge, the Vertical Transport Field Effect Transistors or VTFET design is supposed to succeed the current FinFET technology. The FinFET technology is being used in some of the most advanced chips of today.
The change can allow chips to have more density packed with transistors compared to that of the current design.
The brand new design will basically vertically stack transistors, which will allow currents to flow up and down the stack. Currently, the currets flow side to side.
Semiconductors with vertical designs have been a trend as of late. The new VTFET design signals that Intel's future is looking towards that direction as well.
Intel Working on Stacking Chip Components
It should be noted that Intel's initial work is more geared towards stacking chip components instead of individual transistors. This makes sense since when users run out of ways to add more chips in a single plane, the only real direction to take would be to go up, according to the report by The Verge .
As of the moment, there might still be a bit of a wait before the VTFET designs will be used in actual consumer chips. There are now big claims being made that VTFET chips can offer twice the performance or an 85% reduction when it comes to use of energy as compared to FinFET designs.
IBM and Samsung Claims VTFET Potential
Through packing more transistors into chips, both IBM and Samsung are claiming that VTFET tech can potentially help keep the Moore's law goal. This refers to steadily increasing transistor count moving forward.
Both IBM and Samsung are citing some pretty ambitious possible cases for the particular technology. Specifically, the companies are raising the idea of cell phone batteries potentially going over a week without needing to be charged.
Other improvements can mean less energy-intensive crypto mining or data encryption. This could also even mean more powerful IoT services or even spacecraft.
Read Also: Microsoft Edge Update Pinpoints Which Sites Slow Your Browser While | Debug Memory Leaks Offered
Intel RibbonFET to Upgrade Current FinFET
Intel has previously revealed its upcoming RibbonFET, which is going to be Intel's initial gate-all-around transistor design. The RibbonFET was made over the summer.
RibbonFET is going to be the company's successor to FinFET production tech. It is now set to be part of the production of Intel 20A generation of semiconductors.
The production of the Intel 20A generation of semiconductor products will be ramped up beginning in 2024. To add, the company had also just recently announced their plans for stacking transistor tech as a potential successor for the RibbonFET in the near future.
Related Article: 3D Printing Through Resin Stacking Could Prove Quite Messy and Difficult | Why Do It?
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Urian B.
