Extending Moore's Law: Shrinking transistor size for smaller, more efficient computers
Tuesday, July 15, 2014 - 22:30
in Physics & Chemistry
Over the years, computer chips have gotten smaller thanks to advances in materials science and manufacturing technologies. This march of progress, the doubling of transistors on a microprocessor roughly every two years, is called Moore's Law. But there's one component of the chip-making process in need of an overhaul if Moore's law is to continue: the chemical mixture called photoresist. In a bid to continue decreasing transistor size while increasing computation and energy efficiency, chip-maker Intel has partnered with researchers to design an entirely new kind of resist.