The semiconductor manufacturer TSMC has developed a material for transistor contact electrodes that will enable the fabrication of chips using a 1-nanometer process. Researchers from National Taiwan University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology participated in the study, Verdict reports.<\/p>\n
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Engineers found that using semimetallic bismuth as the contact electrode for a two-dimensional material to replace silicon reduces resistance and increases current. This could push energy efficiency for semiconductors to the maximum attainable level, they say.<\/p>\n
Currently, TSMC uses tungsten interconnects, which have several limitations and do not allow the technology node to shrink to 1 nm. The new material would address this shortcoming, the scientists say. However, so far it has been used in research samples and is not ready for mass production.<\/p>\n
TSMC is currently mastering the 5-nanometer process, and in the second half of 2022 the company plans to begin manufacturing chips at the 3-nm node.<\/p>\n
As reported in May 2021, IBM announced a 2-nanometer process<\/a> for chip production, which would boost processor performance and energy efficiency.<\/p>\n In April, Cerebras unveiled a processor with 850 thousand cores<\/a> designed for machine learning and artificial intelligence calculations.<\/p>\n In late March, ARM announced the ninth generation of processors with AI support<\/a>.<\/p>\n