Silicon returns to Silicon Valley | Sep 21st 2024 | The Economist

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←Technology Quarterly

Chipmaking

Technology Quarterly -

AI has returned chipmaking to the heart of computer technology, says Shailesh Chitnis

Brightly coloured 3D rendered illustration of a hilly landscape made up of computer chips

Putting the silicon back in the valley

AI has returned chipmaking to the heart of computer technology

And the technological challenges are bigger than the political ones, argues Shailesh Chitnis

6 min read

Brightly coloured 3D rendered illustration of a microscope with a tiny factory under the lens

Shrink to fit

The semiconductor industry faces its biggest technical challenge yet

As Moore’s law fades, how can more transistors be fitted onto a chip?

9 min read

Brightly coloured 3D rendered illustration of a series of transistors going down in size with labels next to them from XXL to XXXS but S to XXXS are all the same size

The names are meaningless

Node names do not reflect actual transistor sizes

A favourite way of measuring progress in the chip industry is detached from reality

3 min read

Brightly coloured 3D rendered illustration of computer chip with a tall tower of transistors on it

Getting to one trillion

How to build more powerful chips without frying the data centre

Runaway energy consumption remains a problem

8 min read

Brightly coloured 3D rendered illustration of a fossilised computer chip inside a rock

A Cambrian moment

AI has propelled chip architecture towards a tighter bond with software

It has also been pushed farther towards specialisation

9 min read

Brightly coloured 3D rendered illustration of melted motherboard

OK (analogue) computer

Researchers are looking beyond digital computing

They are using biology and light to design powerful, energy-efficient chips

4 min read

Brightly coloured 3D rendered illustration of blocks and 1s and 0s falling on to a comluter chip

The relentless innovation machine

The end of Moore’s law will not slow the pace of change

Semiconductors are likely to continue their transformational role

4 min read

Chipmaking

Sources and acknowledgments

1 min read