This book is dedicated to those individuals in the U.S. Government who have begun to recognize the full implications of the challenge which this country confronts in microelectronics race, and who are beginning to take steps to deal with that challenge.
We are in the center of the most life-changing technological revolution the Earth has ever known. In little more than 65 years, an eye-blink in human history, a single technological invention has launched the proverbial thousand ships, producing the most sweeping and pervasive set of changes ever to wash over humankind; changes that are reshaping the very core of human existence, on a global scale, at a relentlessly accelerating pace. And we are just at the very beginning. Silicon Earth: Introduction to Microelectronics and Nanotechnology introduces readers with little or no technical background to the marvels of microelectronics and nanotechnology, using straightforward language, an intuitive approach, minimal math, and lots of pictures. The general scientific and engineering underpinnings of microelectronics and nanotechnology are described, as well as how this new technological revolution is transforming a broad array of interdisciplinary fields, and civilization as a whole. Special "widget deconstruction" chapters address the inner workings of ubiquitous micro/nano-enabled pieces of technology, such as smartphones, flash drives, and digital cameras. Completely updated and upgraded to full color, the Second Edition: Includes new material on the design of electronic systems, the future of electronics, and the societal impact of micro/nanotechnology Provides new widget deconstructions of cutting-edge tech gadgets like the GPS-enabled smartwatch Adds end-of-chapter study questions and hundreds of new color photos Silicon Earth: Introduction to Microelectronics and Nanotechnology, Second Edition is a pick-up-and-read-cover-to-cover book for those curious about the micro/nanoworld, as well as a classroom-tested, student-and-professor-approved text ideal for an undergraduate-level university course. Lecture slides, homework examples, a deconstruction project, and discussion threads are available via an author-maintained website.
Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital presents a novel interpretation of the good and bad times in the economy, taking a long-term perspective and linking technology and finance in an original and convincing way.
Nature's construction set assembling the building blocks of matter - To conduct or not to conduct and where semiconductors fit in - p-n junctions how they work and what you can do with them - A logical decision using the transistor as an electronic switch - The amazing shrinking transistor the benefits of integrated circuits - Upwardly mobile or how to make electrons travel faster - When is a particle not a particle? the importance of electron waves - The joy of tunnelling from superatoms to superlattices - Negative resistance and the quantum transistor - Superconductors and single electron tunnelling - Making light work computing with photons.
This book provides a unique account of the history of integrated circuit, the microelectronics industry and the people involved in the development of transistor and integrated circuit. In this richly illustrated account the author argues that the group of inventors was much larger than originally thought. This is a personal recollection providing the first comprehensive behind-the-scenes account of the history of the integrated circuit.
Computer chips are an almost invisible part of our modern lives, and yet they make much of what's "modern" in them possible. Even the tech-averse and the tech-opposed among us depend on their hidden capabilities. From today's automobiles, medical scanners, and DVD players to annoying musical greeting cards, space travel, and movies like The Lord of the Rings, microelectronics are everywhere-and taken for granted. But how did this revolutionary technology emerge? Microchip tells that story by exploring the personalities behind the technology. From the two pioneering men who invented the integrated circuit, Nobel Prize winner Jack Kilby and Intel founder Robert Noyce, to luminaries like Gordon Moore and An Wang who put the chip to work, Jeffrey Zygmont shows how the history of the microchip is also the story of a handful of visionaries confronting problems and facing opportunities. A compelling narrative about the germination and advancement of a single technology, Microchip is essential reading about the now-ubiquitous integrated circuit and its outlook for the future.