Cube processors to bring eye-popping speed

3d processors
2D processors are getting too congested. The quest for more transistors and faster connections requires structural changes

Today's flat, 2D silicon microprocessors are becoming so fast that the time it takes to get a signal from one side of the chip to the other – let alone between processors – is becoming a significant limiting factor.

One way to tackle this is being explored in the field of silicon photonics – replacing electrical connections with faster moving light – but researchers at the University of Rochester in New York State say they've cracked this problem another way: by creating the world's first working chip in three dimensions.