Page 180 - Bebop to The Boolean Boogie An Unconventional Guide to Electronics Fundamentals, Components, and Processes

Integrated Circuits (ICs) 16 1

Moore’s Law
In 1965, Gordon Moore (who was to co-found Intel Corporation in 1968)
was preparing a speech that included a graph illustrating the growth in the
performance of memory ICs. While plotting this graph, Moore realized that
new generations of memory devices were released approximately every 18
months, and that each new generation of devices contained roughly twice
the capacity of its predecessor.
This observation subsequently became known as Moore’s Law, and it has
been applied to a wide variety of electronics trends. These include the number
of transistors that can be constructed in a certain area of silicon (the number
doubles approximately every 18 months), the price per transistor (which follows
an inverse Moore’s Law curve and halves approximately every 18 months), and
the performance of microprocessors (which again doubles approximately every
18 months).

Liquid crystal displays are often to construct paper-thin field-effect
used for personal electronic transistors, then employed plastic-
appliances such as notebook like organic polymers and graphite
computers. These displays are inks to carry electricity. This
arranged as a matrix of points development could lead to flexible
called pixels, each of which can computer screens that roll up like
be light or dark, and each of window shades.”
which is controlled by a transis- Personally the author has
tor. Up until now, these displays enough problems with his window
have typically been fabricated as shades spontaneously rolling up
a sandwich of liquid crystal (which can offer one of life’s
between two slices of glass. unforgettable moments when
However, the following interest- parading in full glory in front of
ing little snippet was reported in the bathroom mirror) without his
the November 1994 edition of computer screen doing the same
the IEEE Spectrum magazine: thing. However, this opens the
“Researchers at the French door to yet more science fiction
National Center for Scientific predictions coming true in the
Research, in Thiais, say that they foreseeable future: for example,
have developed an all-plastic, comic books, newspapers, and
no-metal transistor. Using modern textbooks with animated pictures
printing techniques, the group built and graphics. We truly do live in
up thin layers of various materials interesting times.