Intel begins work on 10GHz chips

Intel is experimenting with Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography (EUV) techniques that will enable chip makers to place more transistors on a semiconductor.

As more transistors means better performance, this overcomes barriers to faster processors that have been concerning chip manufacturers.

It opens up possibilities for chip speeds of up to 10GHz which are impossible with today's techniques.

Current photolithography techniques used to create chips are based on photographic principles.

Machines shrink and print images of circuits onto silicon wafers, but EUV differs from current photolithographic methods by using a shorter light wavelength to create the image.

Intel has bought a machine to create chips in this way, and is the first manufacturer to do so.

The machine itself is still at a beta stage of development, and Intel does not expect commercial production of EUV chips to start for around five years.