Cryptocurrency: IBM+Samsung Chips Cut Energy 85%

[grarpamp]

https://www.news-journal.com/ibm-and-samsung-unveil-semiconductor-breakthrough-that-defies-conventional-design/article_ba471204-e08a-5866-82ab-e77e895e076c.html

IBM And Samsung Jointly Announce "Breakthrough" Semiconductor That
Uses 85% Less Energy

If you're like us, you've been wondering what the hell IBM has been
doing for the last few years. Today, it looks like we may have part of
an answer.

Big Blue revealed this morning in a press release that it had been
working jointly with Samsung and had achieved a "breakthrough" in
semiconductor design that could reduce energy usage by 85%.

The two companies announced jointly a "breakthrough in semiconductor
design utilizing a new vertical transistor architecture that
demonstrates a path to scaling beyond nanosheet, and has the potential
to reduce energy usage by 85 percent compared to a scaled fin
field-effect transistor".

The announcement comes in the midst of a global semiconductor shortage
which many believe may not end fully until 2023.

"The two companies' semiconductor innovation was produced at the
Albany Nanotech Complex in Albany, NY, where research scientists work
in close collaboration with public and private sector partners to push
the boundaries of logic scaling and semiconductor capabilities," the
press release said.

The release listed some potential benefits for the breakthrough, including:

    Potential device architecture that enables semiconductor device
scaling to continue beyond nanosheet.
    Cell phone batteries that could go over a week without being
charged, instead of days.
    Energy intensive processes, such as cryptomining operations and
data encryption, could require significantly less energy and have a
smaller carbon footprint.
    Continued expansion of Internet of Things (IoT) and edge devices
with lower energy needs, allowing them to operate in more diverse
environments like ocean buoys, autonomous vehicles, and spacecraft.

Dr. Mukesh Khare, Vice President, Hybrid Cloud and Systems, IBM
Research, commented: "Today's technology announcement is about
challenging convention and rethinking how we continue to advance
society and deliver new innovations that improve life, business and
reduce our environmental impact."

He continued: "Given the constraints the industry is currently facing
along multiple fronts, IBM and Samsung are demonstrating our
commitment to joint innovation in semiconductor design and a shared
pursuit of what we call 'hard tech.'"