IBM recently announced that it has just finished developing computer chips that are faster and smaller than the ones already out in the market.
IBM has rough prototypes of what the next generation of chips could eventually become but these have yet to be ready for mass production. This will obviously be a problem if the company is to spearhead the latest frontier of miniature and microscopic technology.
The prototypes already have working parts known as transistors that effectively enable it to act as normal computer chips, but what probably stands out as being the most notable feature of the chip is its size, or relative lack of it. IBM has produced two-differently sized prototypes, with one at 10 nanometers and the second at seven nanometers, according to CNet.
Both prototypes are remarkable not just for their size, but also for their potential, as the 10-nanometer chip is capable of improving the power-performance ratio over this generation's 14 nanometer chips by about 40 to 50 percent, while the seven-nanometer models can improve over the 10-nanometer variants by 50 percent.
For now, IBM has not expressed any immediate plans of using the smaller chips.
Though the prototypes remain out of action for now, they are still expected to greatly impact the industry by virtue of IBM now being able to put the pressure on their competitors, such as Intel, to move forward with greater urgency in developing their very own computer chips, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Developing the miniature computer chips is also an expensive endeavor, with IBM already on the hook for $3 billion for the project.
IBM has also enlisted help from other technology companies such as Samsung and GlobalFoundries to help speed up the development process, and thus far, the alliance is bearing fruit.
IBM manufactures and markets computer hardware and software and offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas ranging from mainframe computers to nanotechnology.
