科技英语新闻:Intel unveils 3-D transistors

SAN FRANCISCO, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Intel Corp. on Wednesday announced that it will mass-manufacture chips using new transistors featuring a three-dimensional (3-D) structure, calling it a technical breakthrough in microprocessors.

The 3-D transistor, called Tri-Gate, represents a fundamental departure from the two-dimensional planar transistor structure that has powered computers, mobile phones and other modern electronics, Intel said.

"Intel's scientists and engineers have once again reinvented the transistor, this time utilizing the third dimension," Paul Otellini, Intel's chief executive officer, said in a statement.

Intel on Wednesday also demonstrated a 22-nanometer (nm) microprocessor, codenamed "Ivy Bridge," which will be the first high-volume chips to use the new 3-D transistors.

Ivy Bridge is scheduled for high-volume production readiness by the end of this year, the company said.

According to Intel, the 3-D transistors enable chips to operate at lower voltage with lower leakage compared to previous transistors, providing up to 37 percent performance increase at low voltage versus the company's 32nm planar transistors.

The gain means that the new 3-D transistors are ideal for use in small handheld devices, which operate using less energy to " switch" back and forth, Intel noted.