Out of the lab, into the fab.

IBM today announced the first-ever application of a breakthrough self-assembling nanotechnology to conventional chip manufacturing, borrowing a process from nature to build the next generation computer chips.

The natural pattern-creating process that forms seashells, snowflakes, and enamel on teeth has been harnessed by IBM to form trillions of holes to create insulating vacuums around the miles of nano-scale wires packed next to each other inside each computer chip.

In chips running in IBM labs using the technique, the researchers have proven that the electrical signals on the chips can flow 35 percent faster, or the chips can consume 15 percent less energy compared to the most advanced chips using conventional techniques. . . providing the equivalent of two generations of Moore's Law wiring performance improvements in a single step, using conventional manufacturing techniques. . .

The secret of IBM's breakthrough lies in how the IBM scientists moved the self-assembly process from the laboratory to a production manufacturing environment in a way that can potentially yield millions of chips with consistent, high performance results.

Today, chips are manufactured with copper wiring surrounded by an insulator, which involves using a mask to create circuit patterns by beaming light through the mask and later chemically removing the parts that are not needed.

The new technique to make airgaps by self-assembly skips the masking and light-etching process. Instead IBM scientists discovered the right mix of compounds, which they pour onto a silicon wafer with the wired chip patterns, then bake it.

This patented process provides the right environment for the compounds to assemble in a directed manner, creating trillions of uniform, nano-scale holes across an entire 300 millimeter wafer. These holes are just 20 nanometers in diameter, up to five times smaller than would be possible using today's most advanced lithography technique.

Once the holes are formed, the carbon silicate glass is removed, creating a vacuum between the wires -- know as the airgap -- allowing the electrical signals to either flow 35 percent faster, or the chips can consume 15 percent less energy.

Self assembly is a concept scientists have been studying at IBM and in labs around the world as a potential technique to create materials useful for building computer chips. The concept occurs in nature every day: it is how enamel is formed on our teeth, it's the process that creates seashells and it's what transforms water into complex snowflakes. The major difference is, while the processes that occur in nature are all unique, IBM has been able to direct the self-assembly process to form trillions of holes that are all similar.

This new technology can be incorporated into any standard CMOS manufacturing line, without disruption or new tooling.

I suspect that we will increasingly hear about such seemingly mundane yet truly significant applications of the nano research that has been in progress for some time now.