IBM to Launch Early R&D PDK for 0.7nm Nanostack Technology in Q1 2027

IBM announced in October 2026 that it plans to release an early research and development process design kit (PDK) for its 7-angstrom (0.7nm) nanostack technology in the first quarter of 2027. The PDK is intended to give fabless chip companies, electronic design automation (EDA) vendors, equipment suppliers and research institutions an early opportunity to evaluate the emerging architecture before the technology matures.

A PDK provides models, design rules, libraries and other information that help engineers design chips for a specific manufacturing process. The first version is expected to include a sample standard cell library for logic functions and an example SRAM design, allowing designers to explore placement and routing, generate early block-level layouts, and assess potential density and power-performance characteristics. It will not include all models found in a mature commercial PDK, and is positioned as a step toward early design-technology co-optimization on an open hardware innovation platform.

IBM said the nanostack architecture differs from today's nanosheet transistors by stacking n-type and p-type devices vertically rather than placing them side by side. The move represents the first time a logic foundry technology has shifted from a 2D to a 3D layout at the transistor level. Potential partners could use the early PDK to study how to optimize the technology for specific products, while EDA companies could begin adapting tools to the new architecture and equipment makers could investigate related manufacturing challenges.

The announcement follows IBM's June 2026 disclosure of what it described as the world's first sub-1nm chip technology using a 7-angstrom node. IBM said the design integrates nearly 100 billion transistors in a 150-square-millimeter chip, roughly doubling the transistor density of its 2nm process, with 50% higher performance, 70% better energy efficiency and 40% more SRAM capacity. Jingyun Zhang, senior technology enablement manager at IBM Research, said the PDK will help people move from nanosheet to nanostack and that the industry is at a critical moment to be better prepared.