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Submission + - Melting microchip defects may extend Moore's Law (itnews.com.au)

Submitted by schliz
schliz writes: A new method for melting away defects on microchips could extend Moore's Law, leading to smaller, more powerful chips. Termed Self-Perfection by Liquefaction (SPEL), the technique has been developed by engineers at the Princeton University, and works by melting away tiny defects in the patterns etched on microchips.

Researchers have traditionally approached chip defects by trying to improve the microchip fabrication process, but this eventually reaches fundamental physical limits to do with random behaviour of electrons and photons. By focussing on fixing defects, the new method enables more precise shaping of microchip components, the engineers expect to dramatically improve chip quality without increasing fabrication cost.
Intel

Submission + - The death of the silicon computer chip 1

Submitted by Stony Stevenson
Stony Stevenson writes: The reign of the silicon chip is over, according to physicists who predict that the conventional silicon chip has no longer than four years left to run. Meeting at the Institute of Physics' Condensed Matter and Material Physics conference this week, researchers speculate that the silicon chip will be unable to sustain the same pace of increase in computing power and speed as it has in previous years. Just as Gordon Moore predicted in 2005, physical limitations of the miniaturised electronic devices of today will eventually lead to silicon chips that are saturated with transistors and incapable of holding any more digital information. The challenge now lies in finding alternative components that may pave the way to faster, more powerful computers of the future

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