IBM says that prototypes for 32nm chips will be available starting in Q3 2008. 32nm ICs will, says IBM, be 35 per cent faster than 45nm chips and use between 30 to 50 per cent less power than 45nm chips.

IBM says that testing on product library test chip and industry standard microprocessor critical paths has shown performance improvements of up to 40 percent over conventional (Poly/SiON) technology at the same technology dimensions.

This is good news for those companies currently paying between $50m and $100m a year to have access to IBM's process technology, except that it is doubtful if all of them will be able to afford to build a 32nm fab.

The companies in the IBM Common Platform process development alliance are: Infineon, STMicroelectronics, Freescale, Chartered, Toshiba and Samsung.

"These early results are a significant step in the demonstration of high-k/metal gate viability in 32nm technology," said Dirk Wrister, director of process technology at Freescale.

'With this achievement the joint development partners are now ready for early customer engagements', says an IBM statement, 'clients may now design in this leading edge, low power foundry technology in order to help speed time-to-market and help realize power-performance advantage for their products.'

The facilitating factor for the 32nm process is the use of a high K material for the dielectric. IBM does not say what the material is. So far hafnium compounds have been used for high K, but the precise nature of the compounds has always been kept secret.

'A low-power 32nm technology design enablement package with fully compatible ground rules for extendibility to the 28nm technology generation is now available', says IBM, 'silicon support for low-power 32nm HKMG technology will be available through a prototyping shuttle program starting in the third quarter of 2008, with plans for quarterly shuttles.'

IBM adds that feasibility results from devices built at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering's Albany NanoTech Complex indicate this process can be extended to 22nm.