TRW Develops Digital Chip That Runs at 69 Gigahertz Per Second

Researchers at TRW in Redondo Beach said this week that they have built the world’s fastest digital chip, a development that could bring relief to crowded computer networks.

The chip, made from an exotic material called indium phosphide, runs at 69 gigahertz per second. That’s roughly 100 times faster than Intel’s celebrated Pentium III, which operates at 733 megahertz, or Advanced Micro Devices’ Athlon, which runs at 750 megahertz.

The TRW chip is “pretty impressive,” but comparing it to its traditional silicon counterparts is like comparing apples and oranges, said Linley Gwennap, editorial director of trade publication Microdesign Resources in Sunnyvale, Calif. The microprocessors made by Intel and AMD contain millions of transistors, whereas the TRW chip can only support thousands.

But the TRW chip will be able to transmit 40 gigabits of data--the equivalent of 10 CD-ROMs--over fiber optic lines each second, said Dwight Streit, director of TRW Telecom Products. That is about 16 times faster than computers can currently transfer data over telecommunications networks.

“Everyone is interested in putting more data through existing fiber systems, and this will help a lot,” Streit said.

Electrons inside indium phosphide crystals behave as though they weigh much less than they actually do, “and that makes them travel faster,” Streit said. The faster the electrons move, the faster the chip can run.

TRW expects to start producing the chip next year.

It hopes that companies such as Lucent Technologies and Nortel will begin using the chips to speed computer networks by early 2001, Streit said. The chips could also be used to put more channels onto TV sets, he said.