Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel, stated in a 1965 research paper that the number of transistors on a CPU will double approximately every two years; this belief became very famous, and is now known as 'Moore's Law'. Intel is still very determined on keeping to that law, as Paul Otellini, President and CEO of Intel, has just demonstrated the world's first CPU constructed with a 22nm manufacturing process. This means that, according to Intel's press release, a massive 2.9 billion transistors are squeezed onto a wafer in about the same area as the average fingernail.
Otellini stated, "At Intel, Moore's Law is alive and thriving. We've begun production of the world's first 32nm microprocessor, which is also the first high-performance processor to integrate graphics with the CPU. At the same time, we're already moving ahead with development of our 22nm manufacturing technology and have built working chips that will pave the way for production of still more powerful and more capable processors." This is fantastic news for the technology industry, and even other non-related industries.
The 22nm wafer that Otellini demonstrated has a rather hefty 364 million bits of SRAM memory, as well as packing the smallest ever SRAM cell used in working circuits (.092 square microns). To add to this, the technology isn't too far on the horizon, either; according to Engadget, the chips are said to be heading for a release in the second half of 2011.
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