IBM leaped ahead of TSMC and its 3 nm process with the introduction of the world’s first 2 nm silicon chip design, although commercial production might not begin before 2024.
IBM may have just pushed the limits of semiconducting technology with a new process chip, a core component of where modern day gadgets get their computing power from. The New York-based company’s recent breakthrough came in the form of a 2 nanometer (nm) process chip, that may feature in next-gen 5G, 6G, edge computing, AI, space, and self-driving applications.
Just for perspective, the most advanced present-day implementations of process chips are 7 nm and Apple’s latest 5 nm chips used in M1 processors, while a majority of desktops worldwide feature Intel’s outdated 14 nm chips. Just to be clear, a process chip measured in nanometers does not mean the geometry of the chip corresponds to the assigned value. Rather, it represents the generation to which the chip technology belongs.
“It’s important to note that recent advances in transistor size — such as the 10 nm, 7 nm, 5 nm and, now, 2 nm nodes — refer to a specific generation of chips made using a particular type of semiconductor manufacturing process, much like 5G refers to the latest wireless standard,†explainedOpens a new window IBM Technology Development Engineer Julien FrougierOpens a new window , and Director of Advanced Logic Technology Research Dechao GuoOpens a new window at IBM Research.
“In this case, for example, 2 nm does not correspond to half pitch of contacted metal wires, as traditionally defined. In general, a smaller technology node produces smaller transistors, more of which can be packed onto a chip to make it faster and more energy efficient.â€
See Also: AMD Pushes the Boundaries of Multi-Chip-Module GPUs With New Patent
What IBM’s 2 nm Chip Means for Future Devices?
How fast is it? Well, in an era where ever 5% improvement is a bonus, IBM’s 2nm chip has the potential to improve performance by an astounding 45% over the 7nm chip, according to the companyOpens a new window .Â
This roughly translates to a 75% improvement in power savings compared to the 7 nm delivering the same amount of power, thus improving efficiency. IBM estimated that this 2 nm chip would quadruple the battery life of smartphones such as the Apple iPhone 11, Samsung Galaxy S10, or Google Pixel 5. In theory, phones would need to be charged once in four days, provided the power consumption remains the same.
Possible use cases of this IBM innovation also include edge computing, AI-driven autonomous vehicles, and much more.
Additionally, the 2 nm chip, which is as big as a fingernail (~150 mm wafer), would also pack 50 billion transistors, thus keeping up with Moore’s lawOpens a new window . The law, rather an observation based on past trends, states that the number of transistors on an integrated circuit (IC) doubles about every two years, while the cost of devices is halved.
For comparison, IBM’s 5 nm process announced in 2017 had 30 billion transistors. But it is noteworthy that the logic density on IBM’s 2 nm chip is quite close to Taiwan-based semiconductor foundry Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC) 3 nm chip, but significantly higher than its 5 nm chip.
|
Chip
|
IBM | TSMC | Intel | Samsung | ||||
| Logic Density (Million) |
Transistors (Billion) |
Logic Density (Million) |
Transistors (Billion) |
Logic Density (Million) |
Transistors (Billion) |
Logic Density (Million) |
Transistors (Billion) |
|
| 22nm | – | – | – | – | 16.5 | ~2.475 | – | – |
| 16nm/14nm | – | – | 28.88 | ~4.332 | 44.67 | ~6.7 | 33.32 | ~4.998 |
| 10nm | – | – | 52.51 | ~7.876 | 100.76 | ~15.114 | 51.82 | ~7.773 |
| 7nm | – | – | 91.2 | ~13.815 | 237.18* | ~35.577 | 95.08 | ~14.262 |
| 5nm | – | – | 171.3 | ~25.695 | – | – | – | – |
| 3nm | – | – | 292.21* | ~43.8315 | – | – | – | – |
| 2nm | 333.33 | ~50 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Data Source: WikiChipOpens a new window , Consolidated by AnandTechOpens a new window | Note: Calculations are based on a 150 mm wafer.
Any significant changes in device costs is years away. However, it certainly is an improvement over TSMC’s 5 nm chip — the closest existing chip rival in terms of compute power. Apple’s 3 nm chip (also by TSMC) is also a worthy contender but like IBM’s 2 nm chip, the 3 nm hasn’t hit commercial production yet.
The 3 nm is expected to be commercialized by 2023 so any practical implementation is ruled out until then. IBM’s 2 nm is further behind than the 3 nm. As a frame of reference, IBM POWER10 processor based on its 7 nm chip will make its market debut later in 2021, six years after it developed the 7 nm chip.
Present Market Outlook
At present, the semiconductor industry is facing a crunch, thanks to the high demand spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic.Â
Moreover, as Chuck Robbins, CEO at Cisco pointed out in conversation with BBC News, almost everything today, right from the obvious phones and computers, to cars, gaming consoles, IoT devices, etc., need compute power through processors based on chips. A high-growth market definitely is good news for existing chips by manufacturers. However, little can be said about its effects on accelerating the development of next-generation chips.
Source: BBC NewsOpens a new window
The shortage of chips is expected to last for approximately six months before production is back on track with respect to the demand. That’s just in time for TSMC to ramp up the production of its 5 mm chip, for Samsung to increase its production of IBM’s 5 nm, but by no measure for Intel to shed its legacy products.
See Also: Intel Pins Hopes on FPGA Market With the Launch of eASIC N5X Chips
Closing Thoughts
IBM disengaged itself from manufacturing process chips and currently outsources the production of its chip designs to Samsung. The company did not mention whether or not it is looking to get back into the space but one thing is clear, it doesn’t want to waste any time playing catch up to TSMC.
That’s why IBM may have skipped the development of the 3nm chip to make way for its 2 nm chip. TSMC does not have a working 2 nm chip model as of this writing.
Intel, a powerhouse in chip and process development is lagging behind and is struggling to usher in the transition to its 7 nm chips. IBM surely isn’t as behind as Intel on the innovation front, and would soon follow through on its 2nm innovation with production-ready tech.
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