Intel Targeting 22nm Chips by 2011

Big things are getting smaller.

Just after Intel was proud to show off its 32nm wafer for its Westmere processor, the world's largest chipmaker today brought out the first working chips built on the 22nm process.

Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini took to the stage with 22nm test circuits that include both SRAM memory as well as logic circuits to be used in future Intel microprocessors.

"At Intel, Moore's Law is alive and thriving," said Otellini. "We've begun production of the world's first 32nm microprocessor, which is also the first high-performance processor to integrate graphics with the CPU. At the same time, we're already moving ahead with development of our 22nm manufacturing technology and have built working chips that will pave the way for production of still more powerful and more capable processors."

Each individual die from the 22nm wafer contained 364 million bits of SRAM memory and has more than 2.9 billion transistors packed into an area the size of a fingernail.

Intel said that production chips using the 22nm process should be ready for the second half of 2011.