Researchers have developed a new chip with 41 vertical layers of semiconductors, bypassing the miniaturization limits that have stalled Moore's law. This design could enable more sustainable electronics by stacking transistors upward rather than shrinking them. The innovation promises reduced manufacturing energy use and potential applications in everyday devices.
Since the 1960s, Moore's law has driven electronics progress by predicting that the number of transistors on a microchip would double annually through miniaturization. However, this trend began faltering around 2010 as physical limits hindered further shrinkage and increased computing power density.
Xiaohang Li at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia, along with colleagues including Thomas Anthopoulos at the University of Manchester in the UK, has pioneered a solution: building chips upward. Their design features 41 vertical layers of two types of semiconductors separated by insulators, creating a transistor stack about 10 times taller than previous versions.
To validate the chip, the team produced 600 copies, all exhibiting reliably similar performance. They tested some in basic operations required by computers and sensing devices, where the stacked chips matched the capabilities of traditional flat designs. Li noted that manufacturing these stacks used less power-intensive methods than standard processes.
Anthopoulos emphasized practical benefits: "The new chip may not necessarily lead to new supercomputers, but if it could be used in commonplace devices like smart household electronics and wearable health devices, it would decrease the carbon footprint of the electronics industry while offering more functionality with each added layer." He added optimistically, "There is really no stopping. We can keep doing it. It’s just a matter of sweat and tears."
Challenges persist, particularly heat management. Muhammad Alam at Purdue University in Indiana compared the design to "trying to stay cool while wearing several parkas at once," as each layer generates additional heat. The current limit is 50°C, which Alam says needs a 30-degree or greater increase for real-world viability outside labs. Nonetheless, he views vertical growth as the essential path forward for electronics advancement.
The research appears in Nature Electronics (DOI: 10.1038/s41928-025-01469-0).