Intel, the world's largest microprocessor manufacturer, has created test chips made using the 45nm fabrication process and expects to see processors, flash memory, and other products based on the technology available in the second half of 2007, according to director of process architecture and integration Mike Bohr.
The test chips are static SRAM modules containing 153 megabits of memory. By comparison, a chip similar in size made with a 130nm process in 2000 contained only 18 megabits. The nanometer measurement is a billionth of a meter, and refers to the size of features on the processor, such as transistors. By comparison, a human hair is between 60 and 90 microns, or millionths of a meter, in diameter.
By shrinking the transistors, energy consumption and production costs are reduced while higher performance yields are obtainable. While these are only test chips, it is an important indication that 45nm tech is still on track as forecasted.
News source: CNET News.com