September 18, 2007 – At its annual developer forum, Intel debuted working test chips built with 32nm process technology, saying it will start production at the next node sometime in 2009. In a Tuesday keynote presentation, Paul Otellini noted that the 32nm SRAMs utilize high-k and metal gate technologies, and house more than 1.9 billion transistors.

Otellini also said that the company’s Penryn processors, built with 45nm processes, will be ramped to high-volume manufacturing in November, with “up to a 20% performance increase while improving energy efficiency,” he said.
A Penryn dual-core processor operating at 25W will be available on the Montevina platform for notebook PCs next year, he added.

Fifteen processors built with Intel’s 45nm process will be ready by year’s end, with another 20 introduced in 1Q08 (including the Silverthorn chip), Otellini noted. Also, Intel’s 45nm and 65nm chipsets will use halogen-free packaging starting next year, to make them more energy efficient and environmentally friendly.

Otellini also gave the first public demonstration of the Nehalem processor, the first to use Intel’s QuickPath interconnect architecture that integrates a memory controller and improves links between system components. Nehalem designs are slated to be ready sometime in 2H08.

Intel first announced its 45nm process in January 2007, with a working 45nm transistor incorporating a hafnium-based high-k dielectric material and a new combination of metals for the transistor gate electrode.