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Half a Micron

In a span of five years, the size of the features on these AMD chips were reduced from .8 to .35 microns. Half a micron might seem insignificant, but in the microminiature world of semiconductor manufacturing, it is an enormous achievement. As the features get smaller, the chip runs cooler and faster. (Image courtesy of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.)

    Semiconductor Feature Sizes
    (this is an approximation for all vendors)

           Nanometers   Micrometers
    Year   (nm)         (µm)

    1957   120,000      120.0
    1963    30,000       30.0
    1971    10,000       10.0
    1974     6,000        6.0
    1976     3,000        3.0
    1982     1,500        1.5
    1985     1,300        1.3
    1989     1,000        1.0
    1993       600        0.6
    1996       350        0.35
    1998       250        0.25
    1999       180        0.18
    2001       130        0.13
    2003        90        0.09
    2005        65        0.065
    2008        45        0.045
    2009        32        0.032 (estimated)
    2011        22        0.022 (estimated)

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