The American company Intel wants to produce computer chips with a size of 1.5 nanometers at its planned factory in Magdeburg. Today's chips are generally much larger.

The American chip manufacturer Intel wants to manufacture chips with a size of 1.5 nanometers in its future factory in Magdeburg. This is currently the most modern technology, said André Strittmatter, course director of semiconductors and nanotechnology at the University of Magdeburg. For size comparison: ten million nanometers are equivalent to one centimeter. Intel's factory in Leixlip, Ireland, currently produces chips that are four nanometers in size.

The 1.5 nanometer size refers to the width of the transistor rows on the large wafers from which individual chips are cut. The more transistors in the same area, the more powerful and efficient the chips are. The world's most modern processors using the three-nanometer process are currently manufactured in Taiwan.

Intel boss Pat Gelsinger had already spoken about the regulation in Magdeburg at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The Magdeburg plant will not only be the most advanced production in Germany, “it will also be the most advanced production in the world that will take place at the Magdeburg site,” Gelsinger emphasized. The smaller the chips, the faster calculations can be performed.

This topic on the agenda:MDR SAXE-ANHALT – Radio like us | January 19, 2024 | 6:00 p.m.