IBM and 3M set to develop 'silicon skyscrapers'

IBM and technology product developer 3M have announced plans to develop new adhesives that will enable the production of densely stacked, incredibly powerful, silicon towers.

IBM claims that the new 3D microprocessors, which could connect upwards of 100 chips, would be 1,000 times more powerful than anything on the market today. They would thereby enable more powerful smartphones, tablets and computers.

The companies need to develop an adhesive that can efficiently conduct heat through such a densely packed structure of chips, while keeping it away from sensitive components, such as logic circuits.

"Today's chips, including those containing '3D' transistors, are in fact 2D chips that are still very flat structures," said Bernard Meyerson, VP of Research, IBM.

"Our scientists are aiming to develop materials that will allow us to package tremendous amounts of computing power into a new form factor - a silicon skyscraper," he added.

"We believe we can advance the state of art in packaging, and create a new class of semiconductors that offer more speed and capability while keeping power usage low – a key requirement for many manufacturers, especially makers of tablets and smartphones."