While chip makers are racing to add as much cores in their processor chips as possible to make them faster, an unlikely partnership between IT giant IBM and supplies manufacturer 3M has taken an unconventional route which they claim will make processors run 1,000 times faster.

Using a "special adhesive" which tends to dissipate heat away from sensitive components, the two companies are aiming to enable stacking as much as 100 silicon chips into "towers," which as a unit becomes significantly faster than most processors produced today.

"Such stacking would allow for dramatically higher levels of integration for information technology and consumer electronics applications," the two firms explained.

"Processors could be tightly packed with memory and networking, for example, into a 'brick' of silicon that would create a computer chip 1,000 times faster than today’s fastest microprocessor enabling more powerful smartphones, tablets, computers and gaming devices," it added.



The two companies' joint research seeks to address the most pressing technical issues surrounding the production of "3D chip forms" today, which include the invention of adhesives that could conduct heat through a densely packed stack of chips.

“Today's chips, including those containing ‘3D’ transistors, are in fact 2D chips that are still very flat structures," noted Bernard Meyerson, VP of Research, IBM, adding that the "new class of semiconductors" will offer more speed and functionalities while keeping [COLOR=#003300 !important][COLOR=#003300 !important]power [COLOR=#003300 !important]usage[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] low—"key requirements for many manufacturers, especially for makers of tablets and smartphones."

IBM pointed out that many of the semiconductors today require packaging and bonding techniques that are can only be applied on individual chips.

With the joint research effort, the two firms plan to develop adhesives which can be applied to whole silicon wafers, "coating hundreds or even thousands of chips at a single time."

Under the agreement, IBM will draw on its expertise in creating unique semiconductor packaging processes, and 3M will provide its know-how in developing and manufacturing adhesive materials.

While the development is still in its nascent stages, a report by technology blog Mashable quoted IBM representative Michael Corrado as saying that the new semiconductors will see production by end-2013.

"It’ll show up on servers first, and then a year after that consumers might see it," Corrado added. —

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