Even before new devices are perfected, Intel and IBM are wrestling with treacherous atom-size challenges to make future chip generations faster, cooler and cheaper.

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In 2003 Intel expects its chips will have 90-nanometer features (1,000th the width of a hair). To make tinier chip features, chipmakers are going to distant parts of the optical spectrum-and using extreme ultraviolet light. Intel has made 15nm transistors in the lab.
To keep electrons from going where they shouldn't, designers plan to season traditional silicon chips with new materials. One secret sauce: "high K" dielectric materials. Intel and IBM have their own concoctions.
To stop current leaking when a transistor should be "off," engineers are adding an insulating layer beneath transistors. IBM and Intel have different approaches. IBM already uses "silicon on insulator" techniques. Intel says they become key after 2005.
"MIPS per watt," or how many instructions a chip can handle with so much power, is becoming a decisive metric. Tricks to make transistors switch faster or to stop leakage can make devices more power hungry. Intel and IBM are investing millions in new designs and techniques to keep chips cool.