The impact of solid-state electronics on computing and communications
Arun N. Netravali · Bell Labs Technical Journal · 2002
The transistor has become the fundamental building block of all computing and communications systems. A remarkable progression of regular and persistent reductions in size and cost has resulted in ever-greater functionality per unit of silicon. This has enabled designers to achieve enormous increases in the performance of computing and communications systems by applying innovative software, hardware, and architectural improvements. No area of modern life is untouched by the astonishing progress of microelectronics and its powerful, closely allied field, photonics. Examples of such progress in this paper include the evolution of computers from massive, unreliable, experimental models to today's personal computer; the evolution of computer subsystems, such as magnetic and optical mass storage media; and the deployment of new, highly functional operating systems and other powerful software applications. In telecommunications, computers and stored program systems have been deployed ubiquitously to enable today's global network infrastructure. While voice traffic still predominates in telecommunications, the growth of data traffic and the promise of networked video and multimedia are spurring the evolution toward broadband networks, where current and emerging microelectronic and opto-electronic technologies are vastly expanding data rates in local, wide area, and long distance networks. Solid-state electronics also is addressing society's need for mobility, helping to fuel the rapid growth of portability, increase functionality, and extend battery life. Additionally, solid-state electronics is enabling the explosive growth in personal communications, making it possible for people to reach out via networks to databases and to each other. This paper discusses these subjects, provides some brief historical perspectives, and speculates about future developments.