Photos: Intel launches its 45nm chips

A cross section of Intel's 45nm transistor reveals a thicker gate oxide, the layer that sits between the gate and the channel of the transistor. The two middle sections of the photo represent the gate itself — the top part — and the gate oxide, the thinnest section. The gate and gate oxide sit on top of the silicon substrate, the thick layer on the bottom of the photo.

The gate oxide on current transistors is just five atoms wide. Intel won't say how wide this oxide is, but it's thick enough to allow chipmakers to thin it right out again over time.

Credit: Intel