NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - In a move that outpaces its rivals amid a tech downturn, Intel Corp. will launch a new process for making the world's smallest computer chips in a large production scale as the company looks to maintain its No. 1 position in the chip manufacturing industry, CNNfn confirmed Tuesday.

The new proprietary technology is expected to create chips that are 90 nanometers across, down from its previous 130 nanometer version. A nanometer is a billionth of a meter. Smaller circuitry on chips increases processing speed and lowers production costs.

The company said the process can also manufacture chips that are 50 nanometers across, or one two-thousandth, of the width of a human hair, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Intel will also unveil plans for a process to stretch atoms apart in a silicon wafer that will allow electrical currents to flow faster on manufactured chips.