AI EncyclopediaChips & deep techChips
Process node
미세 공정(나노 공정)
A name for how thin and tightly packed a chip's circuits are made. The smaller the number, the more advanced the technology.
Overview
A chip holds tens of billions of tiny switches (transistors) that turn electricity on and off. The smaller you make the switches, the more of them fit in the same area, so the chip gets faster and uses less power.
Names like "3 nanometer" and "2 nanometer" once meant the actual width of the circuits, but now they are closer to labels that tell the generations apart. Each company uses its own standard, so it is hard to compare by the numbers alone.
An everyday example
It is like writing on the same size of paper with a thinner pen, so you can fit more letters.
Why it matters
It is the basis for phones getting faster every year and AI chips getting more powerful. Which company can run the most advanced process reliably, and first, decides the ranking of chip companies.
Also callednanometer process, nano process