Term of the Moment
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Redirected from: technology node
Definition: process technology
The manufacturing method used to make silicon chips, which is measured by the size of the transistor's elements. The driving force behind the design of integrated circuits is miniaturization, and process technology boils down to the never-ending goal of "make it smaller." As transistors get smaller, they switch faster and use less energy. Smaller also means more computing power per square inch that can be placed into ever tighter quarters. See EUV machine and digital perfection.
Feature Size Measured in Nanometers
Today, the size of the elements that make up a transistor are measured in nanometers. For example, a 32 nm process technology refers to features 32 nm in size. Also called a "technology node" and "process node," early chips were measured in micrometers (see table below).
New Chips Are Not Always Smaller
The smallest feature sizes are found on the latest, high-end CPU, SoC and AI chips that retail from several hundred to several thousand dollars apiece. However, 8-bit and 16-bit microcontrollers (MCUs) are used by the billions every year and sell for as little as a dollar and even less in quantity. They require far fewer transistors that do not need to be as dense. A $2 microcontroller has feature sizes similar to the high-end chips a decade or two earlier. See microcontroller, CPU and SoC.
Unbelievable How Small They Are!
As hard as this is to fathom, using state-of-the-art process technology, one square millimeter holds more than 100 million transistors (see transistor density).
The Branding Changed
Although chips get more sophisticated each year, around the 2010s, chip makers began moving away from actual node measurements but still used the ever-decreasing nanometer branding to keep a uniform comparison. For example, in 2025, chips had a metal pitch of approximately 21 nanometers, which is extremely tiny, but not one or two nanometers as the branding would suggest. See metal pitch and Intel 20A.
Half a Micrometer in Five Years
Feature Size Measured in Nanometers
Today, the size of the elements that make up a transistor are measured in nanometers. For example, a 32 nm process technology refers to features 32 nm in size. Also called a "technology node" and "process node," early chips were measured in micrometers (see table below).
New Chips Are Not Always Smaller
The smallest feature sizes are found on the latest, high-end CPU, SoC and AI chips that retail from several hundred to several thousand dollars apiece. However, 8-bit and 16-bit microcontrollers (MCUs) are used by the billions every year and sell for as little as a dollar and even less in quantity. They require far fewer transistors that do not need to be as dense. A $2 microcontroller has feature sizes similar to the high-end chips a decade or two earlier. See microcontroller, CPU and SoC.
Unbelievable How Small They Are!
As hard as this is to fathom, using state-of-the-art process technology, one square millimeter holds more than 100 million transistors (see transistor density).
SEMICONDUCTOR FEATURE SIZES
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
2010 32 0.032
* Range for 8-bit and 16-bit MCUs.
See microcontroller.
The Branding Changed
Although chips get more sophisticated each year, around the 2010s, chip makers began moving away from actual node measurements but still used the ever-decreasing nanometer branding to keep a uniform comparison. For example, in 2025, chips had a metal pitch of approximately 21 nanometers, which is extremely tiny, but not one or two nanometers as the branding would suggest. See metal pitch and Intel 20A.
CHIP BRANDING (Not Actual Nanometer Sizes) Year (nm) 2012 22 2014 14 2017 10 2018 7 2020 5 2022 3 2024 2 2025 1.8
In the 1990s, feature sizes of these AMD CPUs were reduced from 800 nanometers on the left to 350 nanometers on the right (0.8 µm to 0.35 µm). That may not seem like much, but half a micrometer back in those days was huge. See transistor density. (Images courtesy of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.)