IBM Chip Breaks Memory Bottleneck

IBM will announce today a microprocessor development that should help speed up the Internet and could ultimately bring closer the era of “ubiquitous computing” via hand-held computers and Internet-linked appliances.

The technology giant has created a microprocessor that combines computation abilities with a vastly increased high-speed memory--up to 32 megabytes--on a single chip. Most of today’s processors must frequently exchange data with separate memory chips, creating a performance bottleneck. The application-specific integrated circuit, or ASIC, will use copper circuitry as small as 0.15 micron (less than 1/600th the width of a human hair), creating a faster chip.

“This is a leading-edge technology,” said Jess Huffman, an analyst with Cahners In-Stat Group in Scottsdale, Ariz. “They are really ahead of everyone else in the industry.”

Initially, IBM expects the chips to be used for faster Internet routers and hubs, switching devices that regulate--and sometimes bog down--network traffic. Ultimately, the chips will form the core of a wide range of digital appliances, said Bijan Davari, IBM fellow and vice president of development for IBM’s microelectronics division.

“This will allow them to put together very sophisticated consumer products,” Huffman said, predicting that the chip will be used in a new generation of graphics accelerators, set-top boxes, and digital TVs, phones and cameras--battery-operated products that require high performance in a low-power package.

While IBM may have a head start in this “system on a chip” effort, Lucent Technologies and NEC are working on similar products, according to Bill McClean, president of IC Insights, also in Scottsdale.