Images: Chips of the future

Behold the future of transistors. This experimental 45-nanometer tri-gate transistor from Intel can pass more electrons from the source to the drain, thereby resulting in faster chips that leak less electricity. The design is radically different from existing transistors. The tall picket-fence-like structures running from left to right are the transistor gates. The smaller structures that intersect them are called sources and drains. Usually, the gates, sources and drains exist on a flat plane.