San Jose, CA — (press release excerpt) — New semiconductor fabrication techniques that will allow manufacturers to surmount the 2-GHz performance barrier are among the key microprocessor technology developments to watch in 2001, according to a forecast presented tonight by Steve Leibson, Vice President and Chief Analyst at Cahners MicroDesign Resources (MDR). They include spray-on transistor technology developed at the University of Cambridge that will allow 5 micron polymer transistors to be imprinted on a wide range of surfaces and a nanofabrication technique developed at University of California-Irvine that will enable fabrication of 15-nm molybdenum wires using electrodeposition.

Leibson's forecast was one of nine presented tonight at the second annual Analyst's Choice awards dinner meeting, held here at the Hyatt Sainte Claire, at which MDR presented its awards for the best processors and most significant new microprocessor technology unveiled in 2000.

Looking ahead to 2001, forecast highlights included predictions in eight market segments from the MDR team of senior analysts and Microprocessor Report senior editors:

• Forecasting trends for PC processors, Kevin Krewell predicted that Intel's Pentium 4 will continue to be the fastest such device on the market
  throughout 2001, but the new 0.13-micron version of the Pentium 4 to be introduced in Q4 — codenamed Northwood — will need balanced performance.

• In mobile PC processors, according to Krewell, Intel will be the first to introduce a device with a 1 GHz operating frequency, and will stay ahead of the curve with the 0.13-micron Tualatin, expected to ship later this year.

• Max Baron, Microprocessor Report Editor-in-Chief, predicted that processors for workstations and servers will become still more scalable, supporting applications from text to broadcasting and with new features that will ensure secure distribution of media content and support the development of new storage-dedicated systems.

• Network processors are the fastest growing segment of the microprocessor industry, according to a forecast by Peter N. Glaskowsky, but network equipment makers are likely to spend the next two or three years identifying the proper role for these devices in their systems. For 2001, Glaskowsky expects a shakeout as network chip suppliers are acquired or go by the wayside.

• Key trends for the media processor market cited by Glaskowsky include the rapid growth of digital TV and the expansion of digital media processing capabilities into consumer applications such as digital video recorders, video conferencing, stereo systems, and the handheld multimedia market.

• The year 2001 will see an amplified need for highly integrated processors, according to Cary Snyder. Older architectures are likely to be phased out, while new devices will need clock speeds that are optimized for
  minimal power consumption. For the booming information appliance market, rightsizing hardware and software will become a priority.

• For DSPs, 3G wireless will become a hot new application, according to Markus Levy, while the race for faster clock speeds proceeds unabated.

• Many suppliers of embedded processors, following the trend toward faster speeds and lower power, will be moving to a 0.13-micron process, according to Levy. More multi-core devices will be introduced for high-end
  applications, while Java will begin to take on a bigger role, especially in the wireless arena.

 
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