Since Intel's researchers are using current lithography techniques based on deep ultra-violet (or DUV), they have created only a handful of these new 30nm transistors. Further development is being put into a technology called extreme ultra-violet (EUV) that will be able to allow mass production of the new transistor technology. The optics used for the EUV lithography are derived from the Hubble telescope, and the laser technology is based on the equipment designed for the Star Wars program.

The material covering each transistor, called gate oxide, also affects the switching speed of the transistor. In the case of Intel's 30nm research transistor, the gate oxide measures only .8nm thick. Intel claims that the 30nm transistor coupled with the gate oxide will possess the capability to turn on and off 10 billion times per second. As you can see from the picture below, we are functioning at the atomic level now – the area contained within the arrows is the gate oxide and occupies a space only three atomic layers thick. To put this into perspective, a vertical pile of 30 million 30nm transistors would measure only an inch high.

As we said earlier, Intel expects the 30nm transistor to be available in 2005, which will coincide with the move to .07-micron fabrication processes for chip fabrication. 2003 will see .10-micron processors utilizing a 50nm transistor technology, while Intel's current lineup will move to a .13-micron process making use of 70nm transistors later this year.

Intel's plans for their new research are quite extravagant. By the time the transistors are ready for use, processors ten times more complex than the Pentium 4 are to be in production. Anticipate CPU's with more than 400 million transistors running at 10GHz and under 1 volt. Consuming significantly less power than today's most powerful CPU's (the Pentium 4 requires 1.7v), these new processors will be ideal for handheld devices and laptops.