Chip designers power down latest creations

“As processors continue to grow smaller, chip designers are hammering away at the power consumption of those chips while examining power-thrifty methods of increasing performance, according to presentations at the International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) Monday.

Microprocessor companies such as Intel Corp., IBM Corp., Sun Microsystems Inc., and Sony Corp. dispatched representatives to this highly technical conference to discuss their latest products and offer suggestions as to what might be coming next. Chip performance has improved substantially in just a few years, but chip makers are increasingly worried about the large amounts of power required to maintain high levels of performance in ever-decreasing packages.

Intel and IBM presented technical papers outlining their newest desktop processors built on 90-nanometer process technology. The current shift to 90-nanometer process technologies from the older 0.13-micron (130-nanometer) technologies jump has raised concerns about current leakage, and the topic was a significant part of both companies’ presentations.”