Good news from Intel for fans of Moore’s Law -- Researchers have found a way to cut chip power consumption by 35 percent.

Using tri-gate transistors is the key.

"Compared to carbon nanotubes, it is far easier to build," said Mike Mayberry, director of components research and vice president of Intel's Technology and Manufacturing Group. "The problem with carbon nanotubes is that no one knows how to put them in a particular spot except by moving them one at a time. Even our smallest chips have millions of transistors, so that is an insurmountable challenge, he continued."

A tri-gate transistor is a component in the standard CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) design, but acts as a better "traffic cop" to control the flow of electrons, surrounding each wire on three sides instead of just one.