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I.B.M. Circuits Are Now Faster and Reduce Use of Power


According to a NY Times article (registration req’d) by John Markoff “I.B.M. will announce Monday what it describes as the world’s fastest semiconductor circuits, devices that will reach speeds in excess of 110 gigahertz, making possible a new generation of faster communication systems that consume less power.”

The article goes on to describe the company’s silicon germanium-based transistors, which in June achieved individual switching speeds of 210 gigahertz – the ability to switch on and off more than 200 billion times a second. The article mentions that the circuits will be commercially available for applications like fast optical networks, but the PowerPage is holding out hope that the technology will trickle down to the desktop level soon. PowerPC G6 anyone?

By Jason O'Grady

Founded the PowerPage in 1995.