Intel Next Generation Processor

Ivy Bridge is the code name of Intel’s next
generation microprocessor architecture, the
successor to processors based on the current
Sandy Bridge architecture. As with all processor
improvements there are both speed and
performance advantages.
One of its distinguishing features is the fact that
Ivy Bridge employs 22 nanometer architecture
(the current Sandy Bridge processors uses 32
nanometers), resulting in even smaller processors
and better battery life.
Ivy Bridge also heralds a first for commercial
processors – the introduction of 3D transistors in
the form of Intel’s Tri-Gate technology. Much like
more people can live in a smaller area when
occupying a skyscraper, this new 3D structure
allows for a denser array of transistors. Where
previously only one planar “gate”, which controls a
transistor’s on or off state, could be fitted, three
are now placed on a 3D silicon fin. This is
essential for keeping Moore’s Law rolling along,
with engineers also able to adjust the height of the
fins in future. Intel believes that 3D tri-Gate
technology offers up to 37% performance
increase at low voltage, as compared with the
previous 32 nm transistors.
Ivy Bridge is expected to make an increasingly
visible appearance in notebooks in the second

half of this year.