Intel tooling up for 14nm transistors

Written by Clive Webster

September 13, 2011 | 20:40

Tags: #14nm #fabrication #fabs #idf-2011 #manufacturing-process #next-gen #paul-otellini #tri-gate

Companies: #intel

Intel CEO Paul Otellini has revealed that Intel is currently tooling up fabrication plants for 14nm transistor technology, indicating that Moore’s Law is set to continue well past the 22nm 3D Tri-Gate transistors expected next year.

Moore’s Law is a key factor to Intel’s design philosophy, with the Otellini saying that the progression of Moore’s Law is akin to human innovation and progress. It’s no surprise that Intel is always keen to Gordon Moore’s observation proved accurate.

There have been may obstacles to this progress, but ‘each time, Intel engineers have found a way to innovate past, around and through perceived obstacles using new materials, inventing new technologies along the way,’ according to Otellini.

While the most recent example of Intel keeping Moore’s Law alive is the Tri-Gate transistor, which Otellini described as enabling ‘new levels of performance and power efficiency across the computing spectrum. The world needs Moore’s Law to continue, and Intel is committed to make this happen.

‘To that end I can tell you that we already have line-of-sight to our 14nm technology. In fact, we are well into development of this technology and are beginning to build and tool our factories to support it.


Otellini gave to timeline as to when these fabs would deliver the technology for a retail product, not how many (or even which) fabs were being tooled up for the new manufacturing process. However, it’s clear that Intel is doing its upmost to keep transistors shrinking and thus deliver ever smaller circuits for smaller, sleeker devices.

Annoyed that you’ll have to wait too long for the new transistors, or just relived that progress doesn’t show any signs of slowing? Let us know in the forum.
Discuss this in the forums
YouTube logo
MSI MPG Velox 100R Chassis Review

October 14 2021 | 15:04