A significant portion of embedded and military computing applications have relied on advanced Intel processors, and with the introduction of Intel’s new Ivy Bridge 22-nanometer fabrication capability, expected to be in production by year end, designers of board-level solutions and integrated systems can take advantage of increased CPU performance along with improvements in power consumption.
In the video below Mark Bohr, a senior Intel fellow, explains how this revolutionary 22nm technology, which took a decade to develop, actually works, and also gives us a sense of just how small the CPU fabrication world has become over the past 60+ years.
Shifting from the traditional two-dimensional planar structure to Intel’s three-dimensional Tri-Gate technology provides an opportunity to seriously increase transistor density and simultaneously reduce chip size.
According to John Keller, editor-in-chief at Military & Aerospace Electronics, “Aerospace and defense systems designers prefer the Intel Core i7 processor because of its combined floating-point- and graphics-processing capabilities, which are particularly useful in sensor- and signal-processing applications in radar, sonar, electronic warfare, signals intelligence, and other DSP-intensive systems.”
“Intel’s scientists and engineers have once again reinvented the transistor, this time utilizing the third dimension,” said Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini. “Amazing, world-shaping devices will be created from this capability as we advance Moore’s Law into new realms.”
From the smallest portable hand-held devices to the largest supercomputers, the move to 3-D transistor architecture will create new opportunities for innovation. It would seem that Moore’s law, which states that transistor density will double every two years, is alive and well at Intel!
