IBM + HITACHI = SMALLER CHIPS?

Computing Giants IBM and Hitachi are expected to announce a research agreement in which the companies will join forces to improve semiconductor technology, including shrinking the features on the already shrunken silicon chips.

Researchers from the companies will try the miniaturization of chip circuitry by researching at the atomic level for 32-nanometer and 22-nm semiconductors. Making chip circuits smaller should enable the computing devices to deliver power savings and performance gains. It will also make manufacturing more energy efficient, IBM said.

The collaboration with Hitachi is not linked to the Cell processor, which is the outcome of a separate development partnership between IBM, Sony and Toshiba, IBM said. Though Hitachi and IBM work together on enterprise servers and other product ranges, this is the 1st time they tie-up on a semiconductor technology.