MIT develops technology for faster processors

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have managed to develop faster processors even as the current method of shrinking the transistors on computer processors for greater performance is starting to approach the limits of physics itself.

Elaborating on the limitations of silicon, Tomas Palacios, assistant professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science says, "We won't be able to continue improving silicon by scaling it down for long." Other materials are available, but are unable to compete in terms of "integration and scalability."

By combining a gallium nitride layer into the silicon substrate, the researchers were able to create a hybrid chip that not only runs faster and more efficiently, but can be manufactured using standard processes. At the moment, the technology can be used to create a single chip, though work is progressing on scaling up the technique into larger wafers that can be used to manufacture multiple processors.

Of course, it might be some years yet before chips manufactured using the new process appear on the market.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at InformationWeek

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