A truly cool 500 gigahertz chip 250 times faster than 'normal' has been developed by IBM and the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Researchers achieved their breakthrough by "freezing" the chip at 451 degrees below zero Fahrenheit, using liquid helium, says The New York Times.
It has John D. Cressler, a professor in Georgia Tech's School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a researcher at the Georgia Electronic Design Center, saying the work "redefines the upper bounds of what is possible" using silicon-germanium.
Cressler and a team of 22 scientists and graduate students forged the chip by melding silicon with atoms of the element germanium, a process so fragile that even the tiniest miscue could evaporate their work, says the Associated Press, adding:
"It took researchers nine months to invent a new process to clock the chip by injecting liquid helium into a probing station. Scientists can view the process through a powerful electronic microscope zoomed to see the tiny chip, only a few thousandths of a millimeter wide.
Also See: The New York Times - Researchers Say New Chip Breaks Speed Record, June 20, 2006 Associated Press - Super-Cooled Computer Chip Shatters Mark, June 21, 2006
