IBM says its next generation of microchips will stack components on top of one another to make them quicker and more energy efficient.

The new technology will improve chips by cutting the distance the electrical signals need to travel.

According to Lisa Su, head of semiconductor research at IBM, the company expects to launch chips for wireless devices later this year that use 40 per cent less power than previous chips.

"It opens up a range of applications and neat things we can do," Su told Reuters.

The technology works by drilling holes into a silicon wafer and filling them with metal, rather than trailing wires out to the side of the chip.

Su said IBM was still working on getting other recent breakthroughs to market.

"The scope of innovation you have to deal with is much larger," she sadi.

"It's not just materials and atoms, but systems and how you put components together."