Moore's Law
Moore's Law, named after the co-founder of Intel, Gordon Moore, is a fundamental principle
that revolutionized the technology industry. The law predicted that the number of transistors
on a microchip would double approximately every two years, leading to a corresponding
increase in computing power, speed, and efficiency while reducing their cost.This principle
has been the driving force behind the rapid advancement of technology for several decades.
However, it is no longer applicable due to several factors.
Why it has now stopped being true.
One of the main factors is that as transistor density increases, power consumption also
increases, leading to an increase in temperature. This is because temperature increases as
power increases, and smaller transistors generate more power. As a result, cooling the
transistors to prevent overheating is becoming increasingly difficult and expensive.
Another factor is that voltage scaling, which reduces dynamic power consumption, has its
limitations. While voltage scaling can reduce power consumption, it cannot prevent leakage
power loss, which occurs when a transistor's gate insulation is not perfect, leading to current
leakage. This is a significant issue with smaller transistors, where the gate insulation is very
thin.
Moreover, voltage scaling is also limited due to noise or threshold voltage. Noise is an
electrical disturbance that can affect the voltage level, while threshold voltage is the
minimum voltage required to turn on a transistor. As transistors shrink in size, the noise and
threshold voltage become more significant, making voltage scaling less effective.
Overall, the limitations of cooling, voltage scaling, and increasing transistor density mean
that Moore's Law is no longer a reliable principle. The fundamental physical limitations of the
manufacturing process are preventing the continuous increase in the number of transistors
on a microchip, leading to the end of this era of rapid technological advancement.