Intel Research Extends Moore's Law

Obviously, Intel has no plans to relinquish its lead in either microarchitecture and circuit design or silicon process technology and manufacturing, to which it devotes most of its $4 billion research budget. Indeed, Intel highlighted its new 90-nanometer manufacturing process technology using silicon germanium, which will be introduced when the retooled fabrication plant in Hills-borough, Oregon, goes into full commercial production this year. Yet Gelsinger's keynote sent a strong message that Intel is seriously championing emerging technologies that could advance Intel's business by creating new markets and opportunities or potentially disrupt it if left unanticipated or ignored. According to Gelsinger, Intel's vision for computing's future foresees " a world where people no longer conform to computers but computers conform to people and how they operate so that computing is integrated into every aspect of our lives. " Intel's demonstrated mastery over Moore's law lets it explore and develop niche technologies at an affordable price, thereby increasing demand and ultimately making these technologies widely available to new markets, products, and user populations. Ad hoc networks with wireless sensors that sell for pennies will make possible novel services and applications for the home, the office, the factory floor, healthcare, and the environment. These net-Intel's lablet network leverages industry and academic synergy to nurture off-the-roadmap ideas and technologies and provides a proving ground for testing their viability. A funny thing happened on the way to the forum—the Intel 2002 Developer Forum—this past September: The hoopla at the final keynote wasn't reserved for Itanium or Madison, but for Intel Research's vision of proactive computing. During the keynote, Intel VP and CTO Pat Gelsinger shared center stage with Sunlin Chou, senior VP and general manager of Intel's Technology and Manufacturing Group. The pair introduced a research agenda that includes Intel's 90-nanometer fabrication processes, scheduled for a 2003 debut with Prescott, and cutting-edge research in extreme ultraviolet lithography that will help extend Moore's law. However, the presentation showcased Gelsinger's vision of an expanding Moore's law, as exemplified by disruptive technologies such as • MEMS microradiators for cooling chips and MEMS-based smart antennas and RF components for switches, resonators, and filters that— for certain devices like cellular handsets— would be too high powered to implement in normal silicon; • ad hoc sensor networks with wireless communications ; and • photonic devices such as optical switches and cheap tunable lasers intended ultimately for chip-to-chip communication.