Intel’s upcoming 22 nm processors (codename Ivy Bridge; official launch is planned for the first half of 2012) will not use conventional planar (also known as 2D) transistors but rather 3D transistors.

According to Intel, 22 nm 3D transistors provide a 37% performance increase at low voltage and consume half the power compared to 32 nm planar transistors.

But what’s a transistor, anyway?

Inside a CPU there are millions or even billions of tiny components called transistors. A transistor is basically an electronic switch; when it's on, it passes an electrical current, and when it's off, it doesn't.

The goal of CPU manufacturers is to put as many transistors as possible within a CPU. In order to do so, manufacturers need to develop technologies to shrink transistors.

In the picture below, you can see what Intel has done to shrink transistors since 2003.

click to enlarge
Figure 1

Up to 2009, all transistors were planar (or 2D), which means that there was only one channel where the electrical current passed through when in the “on” state.

click to enlarge
Figure 2

3D transistors are similar to planar transistors except for one fundamental change. The electrical current passes through three different channels thanks to a vertical fin structure. You can have several fins to increase performance.

click to enlarge
Figure 3

click to enlarge
Figure 4

click to enlarge
Figure 5

click to enlarge
Figure 6

click to enlarge
Figure 7