This is the inside of a new breed of chip from IBM, as seen by an electron microscope at 15,000 times magnification.

You can clearly see six levels of inticriate circuits and a tungsten interconnect, part of new technology from IBM called CMOS 9S, which uses copper to link the innards of chips together. This allows high-speed transistors - the on/off switches which act as a computer's brains - to be linked using microscopic copper wiring only 0.13 microns wide - that's around 800 times thinner than a human hair.

Because copper is a better electrical conductor than the aluminium used in other chips, microprocessors made from it can run 25 to 30 times faster than others. But while the chips purr along in the multi-megahertz range, they will still use less power than today's versions: a big advantage as demand for sophisticated battery-powered mobile devices soars with the arrival of 3G mobile networks and palmtop computers.

Now almost every other major manufacturer of microprocessors - including Motorola and Intel - is pumping resources into research of copper circuits, in an attempt to make up on IBM's reputed three-year lead in the technology.

Computers sporting copper chips are already shipping: Apple has used IBM's technology in its PowerPC range since 1998 and IBM will put the new CMOS 9S chips in its new high-end e-server machines.