The layer of plastic on which processors are made has become a problem in producing increasingly complex chips and poses a threat to Moore’s famous law. To add even more transistors, Intel announces that it has managed to develop a glass substrate .
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Gordon E. Moore, one of the founders of Intel, predicted in 1965 that the number of transistors in microprocessors would double every year, which was corrected to every two years in 1975. This is Moore’s famous law, which still applies today. However, as so often in the past, it appears to be reaching its limits again, as it will soon be impossible to produce smaller transistors.
To get around this problem, Intel proposes to replace the organic substrates currently used, more specifically plastics. This is the base of the microprocessors on which all the circuits are added. The manufacturer has managed to create a substrate made entirely of glass, which is flatter and has better thermal and mechanical stability.
Explanation of how a substrate works and the benefits of glass. In English, enable automatic translation of subtitles. ©Intel
A more stable glass substrate enables higher transistor density
The advantage of glass is that it is stiffer and can withstand higher temperatures. Manufacturers are trying to squeeze more and more chips onto a single substrate. Plastics can warp, a problem that the new glass substrate does not have. It also allows for better power distribution and faster signal transmission, particularly by integrating optical connections that replace the copper-to-copper connections currently used. Glass would allow the connection density to be increased tenfold. In short, with a more stable substrate and more efficient and less energy consuming systems, it will be possible to significantly increase transistor density in microprocessors.
Intel plans to launch its first commercial products before the end of the decade. Better yet: With this new glass substrate, the manufacturer hopes to be able to produce the first package (system on a single substrate consisting of several chips) with a billion transistors by 2030.