Intel Atom Silvermont: SoC with 3D Tri-Gate transistors

The 3D Tri-Gate transistors unveiled last week will soon be installed in Intel’s Atom processors. This is the first platform burned at 22 nm, with it corresponding to the Atom Silvermont platform.

Last week, chipset manufacturer Intel unveiled their 3D Tri-Gate transistors – more powerful than current plane transistors which allow for better performance while reducing size (Moore’s law) as the nodes are burned finer.

These will form the basis of Intel’s first processors burned at 22 nm (Ivy Bridge), while they should also find their home among the chipset manufacturers future generation of mobile/roaming Atom processors.

This should allow the x86 architecture to effectively compete with ARM processors in the mobility field, while also making up for lost ground in terms of energy use and performance.

Even though ARM has tried limiting the effect of the announcement, for a lot of market watchers the arrival of Tri-Gate transistors is the missing piece for Intel to be able to pose a serious threat to ARM in this field.


Tri-Gate transistors in Atom Silvermont
CNet has provided some details about the Atom generation of processors to come with Tri-Gate transistors. It should be the Atom Silvermont platform, burned at 22 nm with a planned delivery date of 2013 to benefit from these.

The Atom Silvermont platform will be a SoC (System on a Chip) including the Atom processor, an interface for network connectivity and a graphics processor. It will be two generations ahead of today’s Atom platform (which is burned at 45 nm, while Cedar Trail will soon be available – burned at 32 nm).

It is not yet know what use it will be designed for, but the improved energy use and battery life provided by the 22 nm burning should allow the platform to also be used in Smartphones and tablets in addition to large devices like netbooks and Chromebooks.

According to CNet, Intel should provide more details about the Atom processors roadmap during their analyst’s conference next week.