In industry parlance such size is referred to as a process or a process node – eg, 14 nm, 10 nm, 7 nm or 5 nm. The lower that number, the smaller the size of the transistor used in the chipset, which means you can pack in more transistors for more power and performance. Over the years, the size of transistors in chipsets has kept shrinking, allowing technologists to pack in more transistors and hence more power. 7 nm and lower-sized transistors have been used only in advanced applications, such as 5G phones in the U.S. or for enabling AI in warfare. South Korea, another of U.S.’s allies, is also a source of advanced semiconductors.

Source: The Hindu September 21, 2023 04:18 UTC