World’s first 5 nm chip

IBM’s Nicolas Loubet and a wafer of the new 5 nm chips. © IBM.

IBM, working with Samsung and GlobalFoundries, has unveiled the world’s first 5 nm silicon chip. Beyond the usual power, performance, and density improvement from moving to smaller transistors, the 5 nm IBM chip is notable for being one of the first to use horizontal gate-all-around (GAA) transistors, and the first real use of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. IBM says that, compared to commercial 10 nm chips (presumably Samsung’s 10 nm process), the new 5 nm technology offers a 40 percent performance boost at the same power, or a 75 percent drop in power consumption at the same performance.

⇨ Ars Technica, “IBM unveils world’s first 5nm chip.”