06-10-2006, 03:00 PM
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Executive Editor, Android Thoughts
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 3,233
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System Integration Over More Transistors Leading To Megafunction Electronics
"Remember when combining a camera with a cellphone seemed daring? Or adding a cellphone to a PDA? Such technical tricks relied on Moore's Law, which holds that the number of transistors on an IC doubles every 18 months. In the computing world, having more transistors on a chip means more speed and possibly more functions.But in many cases, those Moore's Law ICs deal with only 10 percent of the system. The other 90 percent is still there, showing up as an array of bulky discrete passive components�such as resistors, capacitors, inductors, antennas, filters, and wwitches�interconnected over a printed-circuit board or two. Real miniaturization requires something more, and we have it in the system-on-package (SOP) approach we're pursuing at the Microsystems Packaging Research Center at the Georgia Institute of Technology, in Atlanta. SOP leapfrogs well beyond Moore's Law. It combines ICs with micrometer-scale thin-film versions of discrete components, and it embeds everything in a new type of package so small that eventually handhelds will become anythingfrom multi- to megafunction devices."
A cool write-up about some of the flavors of devices we're likely to see in the future. If there is one thing certain in the world of electronics, it's that nothing is certain! We certainly live in exciting times, which will likely be seen as very boring by our children!
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Dr. Jon Westfall, MCSE, MS-MVP
Executive Editor - Android Thoughts
News Editor - Windows Phone Thoughts
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06-11-2006, 07:47 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 251
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I'm not sure more transistors necessarily means improved speed (slower and more heat are possible side affects). Anyway we know greater functionality is a given sooner or later. For now I hope my devices don't have too many of the "wwitches" mentioned. 
m.
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