MOORES LAW AND THE CPU

How long will it last?

The Transistor
o

With the introduction of the

transistor in 1947 it would not be
long before the modern PC was
born

Transistors are electrical

components composed of a
semiconductor such as Silicon

These act as logic-gates in the

microprocessors of computer
systems.

By switching on and off each

gate plays a role in the
interpretation and manipulation of
data

Moores Law
o

Established in 1965, Moores Law

observes that the number of
transistors per unit area of a circuit
board doubles approximately every
two years.

Moores Law is the explanation and

reason for the exponential increase
in computer performance observed
over the past few decades

According to current projections,

Moores Law may cease to continue
around the year 2025

This would have a serious impact on

the progression of society as
computational power rapidly ceases
to grow

Dark Silicon
o

A solution to the overwhelming power

density of current microprocessors?

Dark Silicon is an idea created to increase

the performance of modern CPUs.

While still not in affect, this architectural

process would allow for processors of
higher power with lower power density.

Dark Silicon involves strategically turning

off the voltage supplied to logic-gates
within a CPU that are currently not being
utilized.

Compared to current CPU architectures

which power each transistor continuously,
Dark Silicon could save a lot of power.

Silicon
o

The key element involved with making the

PC era possible

Used as the separating conductive

material at the heart of every transistor,
Silicon allows logic circuits to
communicate without mechanical
intervention

Being a metalloid it can either conduct or

resist electric current based on the energy
state of valence electron shells.

Silicon, with a fundamental atomic size,

requires transistors to be of a minimum
size.

With the conclusion of Moores law

seemingly approaching, the search for
other elements to replace Silicon
continue.