Intel forges ahead to 10nm, will move away from silicon at 7nm

To keep up with Moore's law, Intel is looking at new materials, 3D packaging.

SEBASTIAN ANTHONY - 2/23/2015, 10:31 AM

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More interesting than 10nm, though, is the news that Intel is looking to move away from silicon FinFETs for its 7nm process. While Intel didn't provide any specifics, we strongly suspect that we're looking at the arrival of transistors based on III-V semiconductors. III-V semiconductors have higher electron mobility than silicon, which means that they can be fashioned into smaller and faster (as in higher switching speed) transistors. The topic of extreme UV (EUV) lithography also came up during the call, but due to continued problems with EUV deployment, it sounds like Intel is planning to do both 10nm and 7nm without it.

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 With 10nm, Intel hopes to carry the mantle of Moore's law forward to yet another node while continuing to decrease the price per transistor—in other words, we'll continue to see chips that consume slightly less power while also integrating yet more features onto a single die. 7nm, with a possible shift away from silicon, is more exciting; transistors fashioned out of III-V semiconductors can consume much less power while switching at much higher speeds. Individually, neither of these new processes are likely to raise the roof; but a 3D stack of 7nm dies... now we're talking.