IBM Chips Get 3D Tech

IBM(IBM Quote) is taking chips into the third dimension.

The technology giant said Thursday that later this year it will begin producing semiconductors that use a 3D technology to stack multiple chips atop one another.

The technique could bring about electronic devices that are smaller, more powerful and consume less battery power.

Instead of using metal wires to interconnect the various chips at the heart of today's electronic devices, 3D technology allows chips to communicate through tiny holes drilled directly into the silicon.

These so-called "through-silicon-vias" mean that multiple chips can be stacked together like a sandwich, reducing the distance that information needs to travel on the chip by 1,000 times, according to IBM.

The company likens it to the difference between parking 10 feet away from an airport in a multifloor garage and parking in one of many lots spread two miles away from the terminal.

Numerous companies have been experimenting with 3D chip-stacking, and some have released limited versions of chips based on the technology.

In February, Intel(INTC Quote) showed off a research prototype of a microprocessor featuring 80 individual cores, with each core directly connected to a memory component stacked underneath the processor chip.

But the company has not provided details on when -- or if -- it plans to offer chips with stacked memory on the commercial market.