Yet a third view is held by those who assert that the industry is in fact surpassing Moore's prognostication. This hearkens back to Moore's Second Law, which states that the cost of building a semiconductor fab line is doubling every three to four years. From that point on, there will be no economic point in making transistors smaller. But just as the industry cannot agree on the life expectancy of Moore's Law, it also cannot agree on what the law actually says. The reported period of doubling ranges from one year to two or even to two and a half.
Some observers equate the growth in transistor count with a shrinking of transistor dimensions.
Widening the chips is one way, and this certainly has been the industry trend so far. Thicker chips is a second way. Some other observers refer to Moore's Law as a doubling of performance. This view would leave open the opportunity to try avenues other than whittling down transistor dimensions. Many such approaches are already being developed.