IBM is working on the 32nm microprocessor to reduce operating voltage and improve performance over the 45nm circuits, the company unveiled on Monday. In collaboration with six partners (Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd., Freescale Inc., Infineon Technologies AG, Samsung Electronics Co., STMicroelectronics NV and Toshiba Corporation), IBM announced they have managed to demonstrate an increased performance and power consumption advantages in semiconductors by using the innovative “high-k/metal gate” material.

“These early high-k/metal gate results demonstrate that by working together we can deliver leading-edge technologies that handily surpass others in the industry,” said Gary Patton, Vice President for IBM's Semiconductor Research and Development Center on behalf of the partnership. "Demonstrating this caliber of result in a practical environment means that as our collective client base moves to next-generation technology by using the 'gate-first' approach, they will continue to maintain a significant competitive advantage.”

The company unveiled that the improvements have been observed in HKMG evaluation circuits and test chips on silicon manufactured at IBM’s semiconductor fabrication facility in Fishkill, N.Y. and the technology now allows all partners to take customer engagements.

“The semiconductor marketplace remains one of the most competitive in the world. Early market introduction combined with strong product differentiation is critical to success,” said Dirk Wrister, director of Process Technology at Freescale, in a statement. "This early design and modeling work indicates that the high-k/metal gate technology is going to deliver a significant product and performance differentiation. These early results are a significant step in the demonstration of high-k/metal gate viability in 32nm technology."

The high-k/metal gate idea was first unveiled at the beginning of 2007, and it was presented as a way to improve transistors’ performance. This innovation later led to the development of the 32nm chip circuitry, which stands at the base of future technological achievements, such as the 28nm technology or the 22nm technology, the company said.