IBM builds faster transistor

According to Reuters, the chips have been made by lacing the silicon with germanium, which is an element a bit like tin.

Bernie Meyerson, head of semiconductor research for IBM said the transistor achieved a speed of 500 gigahertz, which is more than 100 times speedier than the fastest PC chips sold today, and about 250 times faster than the typical mobile telephone chip.

OK, it only managed that speed when they cooled the room to absolute zero, but it still ran at 300 gigahertz at room temperature, which is not bad.

Like most of Big Blue break through designs they will only be turning into products sometime in the next few years with nothing specific planned yet. µ

L'Inq
Reuters