Samsung and IBM unveil new chip transistor design
Called VTFET GAA on four sides of the channel
Samsung and IBM on Wednesday unveiled a new semiconductor transistor design that allows more transistors to be integrated on the chip surface.
Called VTFET, it stacks the transistors vertically that allows the electricity to flow up or down.
This is different from the FinFET structure used currently in advanced chips where the transistors are placed horizontally with the electricity flowing left or right.
Also, VTFET has the gate cover the vertical channel all around on four sides __ or gate-all-around.
By contract, FinFET has the gates cover the three sides of the channel.
By having another gate, this will allow current passing through to be controlled better, Samsung and IBM said.
The pair also claimed that VTFET offers double the performance and 85% reduced power consumption compared to FinFET.
IBM said the technology could be used to develop smartphone batteries that don’t require charging for around a week.
It could also potentially be used in cryptocurrency mining and data encryption applications that require a lot of power, the company added.