THE ELECTRICAL/ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY 1

THE ELECTRICAL/ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY
The growing sensitivity to the technologies on Wall Street is clear evidencethattheelectrical/electronicsindustryisonethatwillhaveasweeping impact on future development in a wide range of areas that affect our life style, general health, and capabilities. Even the arts, initially so determined not to utilize technological methods, are embracing some of the new, innovative techniques that permit exploration into areas they never thoughtpossible.ThenewWindowsapproachtocomputersimulationhas madecomputersystemsmuchfriendliertotheaverageperson,resultingin an expanding market which further stimulates growth in the field. The computer in the home will eventually be as common as the telephone or television. In fact, all three are now being integrated into a single unit. Every facet of our lives seems touched by developments that appear to surface at an ever-increasing rate. For the layperson, the most obvious improvement of recent years has been the reduced size of electrical/ electronics systems. Televisions are now small enough to be hand-held and have a battery capability that allows them to be more portable. Computers with significant memory capacity are now smaller than this textbook.The size of radios is limited simply by our ability to read the numbers on the face of the dial. Hearing aids are no longer visible, and pacemakers are significantly smaller and more reliable. All the reduction in size is due primarily to a marvelous development of the last few decades—the integrated circuit (IC). First developed in the late 1950s, the IC has now reachedapointwherecutting0.18-micrometerlinesiscommonplace.The integrated circuit shown in Fig. 1.1 is the Intel® Pentium® 4 processor, which has 42 million transistors in an area measuring only 0.34 square inches. Intel Corporation recently presented a technical paper describing 0.02-micrometer (20-nanometer) transistors, developed in its silicon research laboratory.These small, ultra-fast transistors will permit placing nearly one billion transistors on a sliver of silicon no larger than a fingernail. Microprocessors built from these transistors will operate at about 20 GHz.Itleavesusonlytowonderaboutthelimitsofsuchdevelopment. It is natural to wonder what the limits to growth may be when we consider the changes over the last few decades. Rather than following a steady growth curve that would be somewhat predictable, the industry is subject to surges that revolve around significant developments in the field. Present indications are that the level of miniaturization will continue, but at a more moderate pace. Interest has turned toward increasing the quality and yield levels (percentage of good integrated circuits in the production process).
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Introduction
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2  INTRODUCTION
History reveals that there have been peaks and valleys in industry growth but that revenues continue to rise at a steady rate and funds set aside for research and development continue to command an increasing share of the budget. The field changes at a rate that requires constant retraining of employees from the entry to the director level. Many companies have instituted their own training programs and have encouraged local universities to develop programs to ensure that the latest concepts and procedures are brought to the attention of their employees. A period of relaxation could be disastrous to a company dealing in competitive products. No matter what the pressures on an individual in this field may be to keep up with the latest technology, there is one saving grace that becomes immediately obvious: Once a concept or procedure is clearly and correctly understood, it will bear fruit throughout the career of the individual at any level of the industry. For example, once a fundamental equation such as Ohm’s law (Chapter 4) is understood, it will not be replaced by another equation as more advanced theory is considered. It is a relationship of fundamental quantities that can have application in the most advanced setting. In addition, once a procedure or method of analysis is understood, it usually can be applied to a wide (if not infinite) variety of problems, making it unnecessary to learn a different technique for each slight variation in the system. The content of this text is such that every morsel of information will have application in more advanced courses. It will not be replaced by a different set of equations and procedures unless required by the specific area of application. Even then, the new procedures will usually be an expanded application of concepts already presented in the text. It is paramount therefore that the material presented in this introductory course be clearly and precisely understood. It is the foundation for the material to follow and will be applied throughout your working days in this growing and exciting field.
1.2A
 BRIEF HISTORY
In the sciences, once a hypothesis is proven and accepted, it becomes one of the building blocks of that area of study, permitting additional investigation and development. Naturally, the more pieces of a puzzle available, the more obvious the avenue toward a possible solution. In fact, history demonstrates that a single development may provide the key that will result in a mushroom effect that brings the science to a new plateau of understanding and impact. If the opportunity presents itself, read one of the many publications reviewing the history of this field. Space requirements are such that only a brief review can be provided here. There are many more contributors than could be listed, and their efforts have often provided important keys to the solution of some very important concepts. As noted earlier, there were periods characterized by what appeared to be an explosion of interest and development in particular areas. As you will see from the discussion of the late 1700s and the early 1800s, inventions, discoveries, and theories came fast and furiously. Each new concept has broadened the possible areas of application until it becomes almost impossible to trace developments without picking a particular area of interest and following it through. In the review, as you read about the development of the radio, television, and computer, keep in
FIG. 1.1 Computer chip on finger. (Courtesy of Intel Corp.)
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A BRIEF HISTORY  3
mind that similar progressive steps were occurring in the areas of the telegraph, the telephone, power generation, the phonograph, appliances, and so on. There is a tendency when reading about the great scientists, inventors, and innovators to believe that their contribution was a totally individual effort. In many instances, this was not the case. In fact, many of the great contributors were friends or associates who provided support and encouragement in their efforts to investigate various theories.At the very least, they were aware of one another’s efforts to the degree possible in the days when a letter was often the best form of communication. In particular, note the closeness of the dates during periods of rapid development. One contributor seemed to spur on the efforts of the others or possibly provided the key needed to continue with the area of interest. In the early stages, the contributors were not electrical, electronic, or computer engineers as we know them today. In most cases, they were physicists, chemists, mathematicians, or even philosophers. In addition, they were not from one or two communities of the Old World. The home country of many of the major contributors introduced in the paragraphs to follow is provided to show that almost every established community had some impact on the development of the fundamental laws of electrical circuits. As you proceed through the remaining chapters of the text, you will find that a number of the units of measurement bear the name of major contributors in those areas—volt after Count Alessandro Volta, ampere after André Ampère, ohm after Georg Ohm, and so forth—fitting recognition for their important contributions to the birth of a major field of study. Time charts indicating a limited number of major developments are provided in Fig. 1.2, primarily to identify specific periods of rapid development and to reveal how far we have come in the last few decades. In essence, the current state of the art is a result of efforts that
Electronics era Pentium IV chip 1.5 GHz (2001)
1950
Digital cellular phone (1991)
Vacuum tube amplifiers B&W TV (1932)
Electronic computers (1945)
Solid-state era (1947)
FM radio (1929)
1900
Floppy disk (1970)
Apple’s mouse (1983)
2000
Mobile telephone (1946)
Color TV (1940)
ICs (1958)
First assembled PC (Apple II in 1977)
Fundamentals
(b)
A.D.
0 2000 1750s
Gilbert
1600
Development
1000 1900
Fundamentals
(a)
FIG. 1.2 Time charts: (a) long-range; (b) expanded.
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began in earnest some 250 years ago, with progress in the last 100 years almost exponential. As you read through the following brief review, try to sense the growing interest in the field and the enthusiasm and excitement that must have accompanied each new revelation. Although you may find some of the terms used in the review new and essentially meaningless, the remaining chapters will explain them thoroughly