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IBM has unveiled what it claims is the world’s first sub-1 nanometre semiconductor technology, which would place almost 100 billion transistors onto a chip around the size of a fingernail.
The new chip, developed at IBM Research, is 0.7 nanometres, or 7 angstrom, and introduces a new three-dimensional transistor architecture known as “nanostack”.
IBM said the design overcomes some of the physical limitations that have threatened to slow progress in semiconductor development as components approach atomic scale.
The prototype contains almost double the number of transistors as IBM’s 2 nanometre chip, which the company unveiled in 2021.
According to IBM, the technology could deliver up to 50 per cent more performance or improve energy efficiency by up to 70 per cent compared with its previous 2 nanometre node. The company believes the gains could support more demanding generative AI workloads, cloud infrastructure, and future consumer electronics while reducing power consumption.
The breakthrough centres on IBM’s new nanostack architecture, which vertically stacks nanosheet transistors to increase transistor density without relying solely on shrinking individual components.
The company said the approach also allows different materials to be used within each layer to optimise performance and power efficiency for specific workloads.
IBM said researchers successfully demonstrated that the architecture can support functional computing and have run the technology through a series of experimental tests.
The company also presented research showing that the architecture can reduce the size of static RAM by around 40 per cent, potentially enabling more efficient AI accelerators and processors capable of handling larger volumes of data.
Static RAM is an increasingly popular alternative to GPUs for AI inference due to its lower cost and higher speeds.
Although the technology remains at the research stage, IBM believes the first commercial products based on its nanostack architecture could reach production within the next five years.
“IBM’s latest chip breakthrough marks a landmark moment in computing, pushing technology beyond the nanometre era to the scale of atoms,” said Jay Cambetta, director of IBM Research and IBM fellow. “With our new nanostack architecture, we’re not just making smaller transistors, we’re reinventing how chips are built to deliver dramatically more power and energy efficiency.
“This industry-first innovation continues IBM’s legacy of leading in next-generation technologies and sets the foundation for the next era of computing.”
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