On June 25, 2026, IBM announced the development of the world’s first sub-nanometer chip, featuring transistors at the 0.7 nm (7-angstrom) node. This breakthrough was achieved not through the traditional method of shrinking transistor size, but via a completely new architecture called “nanostack.”
How nanostack works
Instead of continuing to shrink transistors on a horizontal plane—the method the industry has used for decades and which is now reaching its physical limits—IBM vertically stacks two wafers of nanosheet-type transistors, creating a “sandwich” of silicon layers. Each layer can utilize different materials, independently optimized for either performance or energy efficiency. This represents sequential 3D integration, not merely miniaturization.
The numbers
The result is nearly 100 billion transistors on a chip the size of a fingernail—virtually double the density of the 2 nm chip IBM unveiled in 2021. Compared to that 2 nm chip, the new node promises up to 50% higher performance, 70% greater energy efficiency, and a 40% improvement in SRAM scaling—a crucial factor for chips handling high-bandwidth AI workloads.
Manufacturing location
Development is taking place at IBM’s semiconductor research center in Albany, New York, which will incorporate ASML’s High-NA EUV lithography to print circuits with greater precision.
Future impact
IBM estimates that this architecture provides at least another decade of scaling headroom—critical at a time when Moore’s Law, as traditionally understood, was considered to have run its course. The company projects a realistic production timeline of about five years. Its most immediate applications target cloud infrastructure, generative AI, and next-generation electronic devices, areas where the demand for efficient computing is growing faster than current manufacturing capacity. “It’s not just about making transistors smaller; we are reinventing how chips are built to achieve vastly greater power and energy efficiency,” explained Jay Gambetta, Director of IBM Research.
“Progress doesn’t stop; it just needs a new paradigm,” summarized Huiming Bu, IBM’s Vice President of Silicon Technology.
Main source: IBM Newsroom. Also verified on TechMyMoney.
