IBM launched the world’s first 2 nanometers (2nm) semiconductor today. The new semiconductors will help the tech industry better, more powerful processors that can now utilize the smaller semiconductor size to get more units in a single processor and get up to 45 percent higher performance while using 75 percent lower energy than a 7nm chip.
The 2nm design demonstrates the advanced scaling of semiconductors using IBM’s nanosheet technology. It will allow chips to fit 50 billion transistors on a chip “the size of a fingernail”.
The new 2nm semiconductor “is the product of IBM’s approach of taking on hard tech challenges and a demonstration of how breakthroughs can result from sustained investments and a collaborative R&D ecosystem approach,” Darío Gil, SVP and Director of IBM Research said.
What benefits chips with 2nm semiconductors bring?
The new 2nm semiconductors will let chips consume much lesser battery in devices like cell phones. IBM suggests that users will see up to four times higher battery life in mobile devices and will need to charge their devices once in 4 days.
The company also suggests that the smaller semiconductors in new chips will help reduce the carbon footprint of data centers, which in itself account for one percent of global energy use. For devices like laptops, consumers can expect quicker processing in applications and other benefits like faster internet access.
The processors powered by the new 2nm chip will also be able to detect objects faster, making them useful in reducing the reaction time in autonomous vehicles, like self-driving cars.
