Intel has announced the launch of its third generation of Core microprocessors called, Ivy Bridge at an event in San Francisco on Monday.

The Ivy Bridge Core microprocessors, which works on circuit that have a width of just 22 nanometres, will allow the company to fight off competition from Arm and consolidate its business in the PC market due to the advanced features of the chip.

The company said that the first Core processors will be quad-core parts for high-end desktops and laptops. Intel Chief executive Paul Otellini explained that the company will come out with a second launch of this year in which dual-core Ivy Bridge processors will be released for mainstream laptops.

Otellini also said that the computers running on new quad-core chips will be released soon after the launch of the chip. He did not specify the time frame for the launch of Ivy Bridge chips for ultrabooks.

Several manufacturers have already announced ultrabook models with Ivy Bridge processors and that re likely to be released in the coming months.

Otellini had said last year that 22-nm microprocessor family dubbed Ivy Bridge will be offered to allow manufacturers to create more advanced computers and other devices. Most computers sold today are powered by Intel's second-generation Core processors code-named Sandy Bridge and the company has said that it will come out with the processors based on the Ivy Bridge soon.