Intel used the opening keynote of its developer forum (IDF) today to show off the world's first 300mm wafer created using the chip giant's next generation 32nm process technology, which isn't due to go into full production until 2009.
Delegates at the event in San Francisco were lucky enough to get a taste of what's to come as Paul Otellini, the company's chief executive, showcased the test wafer and talked about what processors created using this fabrication technology are capable of.
The 32nm test chips feature static random access memory (SRAM), making them capable of holding more than 1.9 billion minute transistors, and the fabrication process takes advantage of Intel's high-k and metal gate transistor technology.
"Silicon process technology is the heart and soul of Intel corporation and executing and delivering on Moore's Law year after year," he said.
"You come to expect us to bring out a new silicon generation every few years and we're making great headway on the next generation as you have to be ready for what comes next, [which is] 32nm. I'm happy to say that we have the world's first product fully-functional on 32nm. Each die is 1.9 billion transistors which is pretty amazing capability. This [milestone] starts to give us the know-how and confidence to build mainstream microprocessors on this technology a short two years from today... Satisfying demand for ever-greater computer performance increases means we need to move rapidly to the next manufacturing technology."
By using such an advanced manufacturing technique, the company is hoping to maintain its leadership position, despite intense market competition, in particular from rival chip giant AMD.
In addition to showing off the 32nm wafer, the main thrust of Otellini's keynote was how the company has, is and will take extreme trends and technologies into the mainstream.
"My talk is all about extremes and also about how we as an industry have to collectively come together to drive new technology into widespread adoption. From extremes to mainstream and driving technology from its inception into widespread adoption.
"I think going forward the message to all of us in the industry is very important and very clear. The innovations we as an industry are making today are the basis of the future of the computing environment and probably the basis of the digital world. Our goal is always to develop cutting-edge technology and bring it to market very rapidly."
