IBM shows that stretched atoms work faster

It may seem a stretch of the imagination, but IBM researchers say, that they

have actually been able to increase IC processing speeds, by up to 35 per cent

by "stretching" silicon atoms during the manufacturing process.

IBM announced the breakthroughs at the Symposium on VLSI Technology in Kyoto,

Japan. In developing the technique, IBM said researchers were able to take

advantage of the natural tendency of atoms inside a compound to align themselves

with other atoms. They deposited silicon atoms on a chip substrate in which

atoms are further spaced apart than normal. The atoms in the new layer

subsequently also spaced themselves further apart.

In the stretched configuration electrons passing through the silicon

encounters less resistance and move up to 70 per cent faster, which can lead to

chips that are 35 per cent faster, without having to shrink the size of

transistors. Power consumption and power dissipation are also reduced in the

process. IBM Microelectronics semiconductor development vice president, said the

technology will be available in commercial products by 2003. "That should

give us at least a couple of years' lead over the rest of the industry," he

said.