Researchers create 500GHz from silicon mix

 

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By Simon Aughton

Posted on 20 Jun 2006 at 17:06

IBM and the Georgia Institute of Technology have demonstrated the first silicon-based computer chip capable of operating at frequencies above 500GHz.

And that is just a start. Computer simulations suggest that the silicon-germanium (SiGe) technology used in the chip could ultimately support even higher operational frequencies close to 1,000GHz.

To achieve such high performance, the researchers used liquid helium to cryogenically 'freeze' the chip to -268.65 Celsius, just a few degrees above absolute zero, a temperature normally found only in deepest space.

They believe that with further experimentation they will be able to achieve equally high speeds at room temperature. The fourth-generation SiGe chips used in this demonstration are already capable of 350GHz in a normal environment.

'For the first time, Georgia Tech and IBM have demonstrated that speeds of half a trillion cycles per second can be achieved in a commercial silicon-based technology, using large wafers and silicon-compatible low-cost manufacturing techniques,' said John D. Cressler, Byers Professor in Georgia Tech's School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. 'This work redefines the upper bounds of what is possible using silicon-germanium nanotechnology techniques.'

SiGe is a process technology in which germanium is introduced into silicon wafers at the atomic scale. This resultant improvement in electrical efficiency boosts performance while reducing power consumption. The fact that the chips can be manufactured using conventional low-cost techniques should enable them to be deployed in high-volume devices.

But the researchers are not finished yet.

'We observe effects in these devices at cryogenic temperatures which potentially make them faster than simple theory would suggest, and may allow us to ultimately make the devices even faster,'Cressler said. 'Understanding the basic physics of these advanced transistors arms us with knowledge that could make the next generation of silicon-based integrated circuits even better.'

[The picture shows a 'frozen' silicon-germanium chip inside a cryogenic station.]