IBM unveils 2-nanometre chip technology for faster computing

For decades, each generation of computer chips got faster and more power-efficient because their most basic building blocks, called transistors, got smaller.

The pace of those improvements has slowed, but International Business Machines Corp on Thursday said that silicon has at least one more generational advance in store.

IBM introduced what it says is the world’s first 2-nanometer chipmaking technology. The technology could be as much as 45% faster than the mainstream 7-nanometer chips in many of today’s laptops and phones and up to 75% more power-efficient, the company said.

The technology likely will take several years to come to market. Once a major manufacturer of chips, IBM now outsources its high-volume chip production to Samsung Electronics Co Ltd but maintains a chip manufacturing research centre in Albany,