Combined into systems, such as a radio transmitter, a radio receiver, a radar set or a computer.
From the earliest days electronics has been a technology of complex
interconnections. A small radar set can easily have as many interconnections
as an oil refinery. To simplify a system design and reduce the number of
interconnections engineers developed a series of standard circuit modules.
Each module performed a specific function and was used as a logical
building block for creating the systems. The transistor could readily be
assembled with resistors and capacitors of about the same size on a small
plastic board. These modular circuit boards of the size of a playing card could
then be plugged together as needed.
As transistor technology developed it was important to decrease the size
of components and the length of interconnections. This limitation and the
complexity of system design made the search for a new technology
imperative. The technology that resulted was microelectronics embodied in
the integrated circuit. It made possible to produce (as a part of a single chip
of silicon) transistors, diodes, resistors and capacitors joining them into a
complete circuit. The technology that produces such high-density electronic
circuits is called large-scale integration, or LSI. Although the term has no
precise definition, it is usually reserved for integrated circuits that comprise
100 or more "gates", or individual circuit functions, with a density "of 50,000
to 100,000 components per square inch. If the upper value could be achieved
throughout a cubic inch of material, the density of, electronic components
would be about a fourth of the density of nerve cells in the human brain. It
now seems inevitable that microelectronic circuits, including LSI, will soon
find their way into a variety of new applications which will have great impact
on industry and everyday life.
TASK 7. Answer the following questions and retell the text.
1. How is the technology producing high-density electronic called?
2. What caused the miniaturization problem? 3. What does the term “gate”
mean? 4. What seemed to be a marvel of compactness? 5. What materials
were used for different components in a circuit? 6. What were those circuits
used for? 7. What was done to simplify a system design? 8. Why was it
important to reduce the size of components