In 1965, Gordon E. Moore (Intel co-founder) describes "Moore's law": The number of transistors that can be placed on an IC will double approximately every 18 months. It turned out to be around every 2 years.

Photolithography, used in silicon chip fabrication, employs a variety of optical trickery to reduce the size of printed features. Currently, excimer lasers operating at 193nm (UV) are used in photolithography to produce transistors smaller than the wavelength of visible light.
As of 2005, circuit dimensions, were approaching 90 nanometers, and cannot get much smaller without fundamental alterations in how we make semiconductors.

Developments like multicore processors, can extend Moore's law.

Computer performance has increased by about the same rate.

Source: Computer Architecture by Rodney Van Meter at Keio University Shonan Fujisawa Campus.
Processors have gotten 6,505 times faster in 27 years! Of that, about seven times is due to architecture, the rest is due to improvements in technology: smaller, faster transistors and shorter, faster wires.

Links:
Computer Architecture by Rodney Van Meter at Keio University Shonan Fujisawa Campus.
End of Moore's Law? Wrong question - CNET News
Physicists calculate the end of Moore's Law, clearly don't believe in Moore's Law -- Engadget
Gordon Moore predicts end to Moore's law arorund 2017 -- Engadget


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last updated 2 Feb 2010