A new laptop chip now shipping in stores packs 30% more transistors into the same space, and the tiny wiring trick hidden on the underside of the silicon that made it possible has never been used in a consumer device before

Intel 18A delivers up to 18% higher performance at iso power, 38% lower power at iso performance, and a 30% chip density improvement versus Intel 3. The backside power rail separates power and signal wiring by shifting power lines to the back of the wafer. Intel 18A combines RibbonFET gate-all-around transistors with PowerVia, Intel’s unique industry-first implementation of backside power delivery. The 18A process introduces Intel’s RibbonFET gate-all-around transistors and the industry’s first mass-production-ready backside power delivery network. Intel 18A-P offers up to 9% better performance-per-watt compared to Intel 18A.