IBM to make copper Compaq chips

A Bloomberg.com writer says IBM will release details of an agreement to make copper versions of Compaq's Alpha processors next week. IBM is also manufacturing copper-wired chips for Hewlett-Packard using the silicon-on-insulator process to increase processor speed and reduce power consumption. The IBM process involves the use of copper conducting wires, rather than the common and less efficient aluminum, and a layer of insulation underneath a chip's transistors, preventing performance-slowing electrical charge leaks into the silicon.

For more information, read the entire story at bloomberg.com.