Innovation That Breaks the Performance Barrier

Intel® 45nm high-k metal gate silicon technology is the next-generation Intel® Core™ microarchitecture. With roughly twice the density of Intel® 65nm technology, Intel's 45nm packs about double the number of transistors into the same silicon space. That's more than 400 million transistors for dual-core processors and more than 800 million for quad-core. Intel® 45nm technology enables great performance leaps, up to 50-percent larger L2 cache, and new levels of breakthrough energy efficiency.

Smaller transistors pack the performance punch

Intel's had the world's first viable 45nm processors in-house since early January 2007—the first of fifteen 45nm processor products in development. With one of the biggest advancements in fundamental transistor design in 40 years, Intel 45nm high-k silicon technology can deliver more than a 20 percent improvement in transistor switching speed, and reduce transistor gate leakage by over 10 fold.

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Taking great leaps forward in transistor design

Using a combination of new materials including hafnium-based high-k gate dielectrics and metal gates, Intel 45nm technology represents a major milestone as the industry as a whole races to reduce electrical current leakage in transistors—a growing problem for chip manufacturers as transistors get even smaller.

This new transistor breakthrough allows Intel to continue delivering record-breaking PC, laptop, and server processor speeds well into the future. It also ensures that Moore's Law—a high-tech industry axiom that transistor counts double about every two years to deliver more performance and functionality at decreasing cost—thrives well into the next decade.

Delivering the world's first 45nm processor to the world

The first processors based on the new Intel 45nm high-k silicon technology deliver many new architectural advancements impacting hardware and software performance. Intel has also moved to 100 percent lead-free materials in our 45nm technology and is making the additional move to halogen-free products in 2008 in order to meet our environmental performance goals. Included in the first 45nm launch are new members of the Intel® Core™2 processor and Intel® Xeon® processor families.

White paper: Introducing the 45nm next-generation Intel® Core™ microarchitecture

File Type/Size: PDF 136KB

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Intel® 45nm transistor technology press kit
Learn more about 45nm lead-free and halogen-free products
Presentation: Delivering Innovation from Research to Manufacturing

File Type/Size: PDF 2.69MB

New instruction set innovations are included in 45nm-based processors.

Find out more about Intel® SSE4

Moore's Law

Get in-depth with Moore's Law and how it was brought to life by Intel® innovation.

Updates from IEDM

Download technical details about Intel's 45nm process, as presented at the 2007 International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM)

A 45nm Logic Technology with High-k+Metal Gate Transistors, Strained Silicon, 9 Cu Interconnect Layers, 193nm Dry Patterning, and 100% Pb-free Packaging

Author/Presenter: Kaizad Mistry