Intel's 15-nm transistor (gate-length)--which has been devised in the laboratory--is a CMOS-based, 0.8-Volt device, said to handle switching speeds of 0.38-ps--or 2.63 trillion switches per second. Previously, Intel also claimed the unofficial world's record last June, with the development of a 20-nm transistor capable of 0.75-ps switching speeds--or 1.53 trillion switches per second (see June 10 story ).

More importantly, Intel's 15-nm device is expected to become a key element in the development of high-speed chips, based on the company's so-called P1268 process technology. On Intel's roadmap, the company's P1268 process is a 30-nm (0.03-micron) technology that will make use of 300-mm wafers.

Intel is expected to develop chips based on this process by 2009. By then, the company could have high-speed processors running at speeds of 20-GHz or faster, according to analysts.

The development of the 15-nm transistor also proves that bulk silicon will continue to be a viable technology in semiconductor manufacturing for the foreseeable future, said Gerald Marcyk, director of Intel's Components Research Group.

"If you look at Moore's Law, we are trying to shrink the transistor 30% every two years," Marcyk said. "This technology will take us out at least until the end of the decade," he said in an interview with SBN.

The Intel manager was referring to the popular axiom in the semiconductor business--attributed to Intel co-founder Gordon E. Moore--which says the number of transistors in integrated circuits doubles every 18 months due to device shrinks and other chip-processing technologies.

Before the end of this decade--or sooner--Intel and other chip makers will face some major challenges to develop ICs with bulk silicon, especially in terms of power consumption, Marcyk said.

The challenge is to make devices with low "standby currents and standby power," he said. "Developing smaller and faster devices is not a problem. The challenge is to make devices smaller, faster, and with lower power," he said.

Intel faces some other issues as well. The company will continue to embrace silicon until the end of the decade. But it's unclear if silicon will remain a viable technology beyond the next decade. "This is as far as I can rationalize it," the Intel manager said.