This is why nanotech matters here


Below is a tweet by Intel how they make a quadrillion transistors a day on the computer chips they make. By shrinking transistors, chip companies essentially reduce the cost per transistor, which reduces the cost per chip exponentially every few years. Perhaps no other industry can reduce costs while innovating so quickly. It’s the amazing use of physics to drive the economics of the industry. And that innovation is happening here at Albany Nanotech and GlobalFoundries with a lot of help from IBM. But as companies like Intel bump up against the laws of physics, they wont be able to shrink transistors any more. That is why they are moving to larger wafers to make chips. That will also dramatically cut the cost per transistors. And that is happening here at Albany Nanotech with the Global 450 Consortium. And that is why Intel, IBM, Albany Nanotech and GloFo are investing $4.8 billion in the effort…

Intel (@intel) tweeted at 1:53 PM on Thu, Feb 07, 2013: We make a QUADRILLION transistors… every day. That’s 1,000,000,000,000,000. A one followed by 15 zeroes. #dothemath ( Get the official Twitter app at

Larry Rulison

One Response

  1. where's the money says:

    Economists have raised the question about capital cost relative to the continued escalation of equipment cost to produce smaller and smaller chips (R.O.I.). Basically will the finances support the science and justify future business investment.

    IBM (and I’m sure others) have been working on options for years and late last year made an interesting update announcement on carbontubes as a possible replacement for silicon. Maybe a decade or so away but interesting stuff.

    Here is an address for the press release. Has all the details.