The first integrated circuit. The history of the invention of the integrated circuit. reduction in equipment costs

Introduction

Since the advent of the first computers, software developers have dreamed of hardware designed to solve exactly their problem. Therefore, the idea of ​​​​creating special integrated circuits that can be tailored to effectively perform a specific task has appeared for quite some time. There are two development paths here:

• The use of so-called specialized custom integrated circuits (ASIC - Application Specific Integrated Circuit). As the name suggests, such chips are made by manufacturers hardware custom-made to effectively perform a specific task or range of tasks. They do not have the versatility of conventional microcircuits, but they solve the tasks assigned to them many times faster, sometimes by orders of magnitude.
• Creation of microcircuits with reconfigurable architecture. The idea is that such chips arrive to the developer or software user in an unprogrammed state, and he can implement on them the architecture that best suits him. Let's take a closer look at their formation process.

Over time, a large number of different chips with reconfigurable architecture appeared (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1 Variety of chips with reconfigurable architecture

For quite a long time, only PLD (Programmable Logic Device) devices existed on the market. This class includes devices that implement the functions necessary to solve the assigned problems in the form of a perfect disjunctive normal shape(perfect DNF). The first to appear in 1970 were EEPROM chips, which belong specifically to the class of PLD devices. Each circuit had a fixed array of AND logic functions connected to a programmable set of OR logic functions. For example, consider a PROM with 3 inputs (a, b and c) and 3 outputs (w, x and y) (Fig. 2).

Rice. 2. PROM chip

Using a predefined AND array, all possible conjunctions over input variables are implemented, which can then be arbitrarily combined using OR elements. Thus, at the output you can implement any function of three variables in the form of a perfect DNF. For example, if you program those OR elements that are circled in red in Figure 2, then the outputs will produce the functions w=a x=(a&b) ; y=(a&b)^c.

Initially, PROM chips were intended to store program instructions and constant values, i.e. to perform computer memory functions. However, developers also use them to implement simple logic functions. In fact, the chip's PROM can be used to implement any logical block, provided that it has a small number of inputs. This condition follows from the fact that in EEPROM microcircuits the matrix of AND elements is strictly defined - all possible conjunctions from the inputs are implemented in it, that is, the number of AND elements is equal to 2 * 2 n, where n is the number of inputs. It is clear that as the number n increases, the size of the array grows very quickly.

Next, in 1975, the so-called programmable logic arrays (PLMs) appeared. They are a continuation of the idea of ​​PROMs of microcircuits - PLMs also consist of AND and OR arrays, however, unlike PROMs, both arrays are programmable. This provides greater flexibility for such chips, but they have never been common because signals take much longer to travel through programmable connections than through their predefined counterparts.

In order to solve the speed problem inherent in PLMs, a further class of devices called programmable array logic (PAL) appeared in the late 1970s. A further development of the idea of ​​PAL chips was the emergence of GAL (Generic Array Logic) devices - more complex varieties of PAL using CMOS transistors. The idea used here is exactly the opposite of the idea of ​​PROM chips - a programmable array of AND elements is connected to a predefined array of OR elements (Fig. 3).

Rice. 3. Unprogrammed PAL device

This imposes a limitation on functionality, however, such devices require arrays of a much smaller size than in EPROM chips.

A logical continuation of simple PLDs was the emergence of so-called complex PLDs, consisting of several blocks of simple PLDs (usually PAL devices are used as simple PLDs), united by a programmable switching matrix. In addition to the PLD blocks themselves, it was also possible to program the connections between them using this switch matrix. The first complex PLDs appeared in the late 70s and early 80s of the 20th century, but the main development of this area occurred in 1984, when Altera introduced a complex PLD based on a combination of CMOS and EPROM technologies.

The advent of FPGA

In the early 1980s, in the digital ASIC environment, a gap opened up between the main types of devices. On the one hand, there were PLDs, which can be programmed for each specific task and are quite easy to manufacture, but they cannot be used to implement complex functions. On the other hand, there are ASICs that can implement extremely complex functions, but have a rigidly fixed architecture and are time-consuming and expensive to manufacture. An intermediate link was needed, and FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) devices became such a link.

FPGAs, like PLDs, are programmable devices. The main fundamental difference between FPGA and PLD is that functions in FPGA are implemented not using DNF, but using programmable lookup tables (LUTs). In these tables, the function values ​​are specified using a truth table, from which the required result is selected using a multiplexer (Fig. 4):

Rice. 4. Correspondence table

Each FPGA device consists of programmable logic blocks (Configurable Logic Blocks - CLBs), which are interconnected by connections that are also programmable. Each such block is intended for programming a certain function or part of it, but can be used for other purposes, for example, as memory.

In the first FPGA devices, developed in the mid-80s, the logic block was very simple and contained one 3-input LUT, one flip-flop and a small number of auxiliary elements. Modern FPGA devices are much more complex: each CLB block consists of 1-4 “slices”, each of which contains several LUT tables (usually 6-input), several triggers and a large number of service elements. Here is an example of a modern "slice":

Rice. 5. The device of a modern "cut"

Conclusion

Since PLD devices cannot implement complex functions, they continue to be used to implement simple functions in portable devices and communications, while FPGA devices ranging from 1000 gate sizes (the first FPGA developed in 1985) this moment exceeded the 10 million gate mark (Virtex-6 family). They are actively developing and are already replacing ASIC chips, allowing the implementation of a variety of extremely complex functions without losing the ability to reprogram.

The implementation of these proposals in those years could not take place due to insufficient development of technology.

At the end of 1958 and in the first half of 1959, a breakthrough took place in the semiconductor industry. Three men, representing three private American corporations, solved three fundamental problems that were preventing the creation of integrated circuits. Jack Kilby from Texas Instruments patented the principle of combination, created the first, imperfect, prototypes of IP and brought them to mass production. Kurt Lehovec from Sprague Electric Company invented a method for electrically insulating components formed on a single semiconductor chip (p-n junction insulation). P–n junction isolation)). Robert Noyce from Fairchild Semiconductor invented a way electrical connection IC components (aluminum metallization) and proposed an improved version of component insulation based on the latest planar technology of Jean Herni. Jean Hoerni). On September 27, 1960, Jay Last's band Jay Last) created on Fairchild Semiconductor the first working one semiconductor IP based on the ideas of Noyce and Ernie. Texas Instruments, who owned the patent for Kilby's invention, unleashed against competitors patent war, which ended in 1966 with a worldwide agreement on cross-licensing technologies.

Early logic ICs of the mentioned series were literally built from standard components whose sizes and configurations have been specified technological process. Circuit designers who designed logic ICs of a particular family operated with the same standard diodes and transistors. In 1961-1962 the leading developer broke the design paradigm Sylvania Tom Longo, for the first time using different ICs in one configurations of transistors depending on their functions in the circuit. At the end of 1962 Sylvania launched the first family of transistor-transistor logic (TTL) developed by Longo - historically the first type of integrated logic that managed to gain a long-term foothold in the market. In analog circuitry, a breakthrough of this level was made in 1964-1965 by the developer of operational amplifiers Fairchild Bob Widlar.

The first domestic microcircuit was created in 1961 at TRTI (Taganrog Radio Engineering Institute) under the leadership of L. N. Kolesov. This event attracted the attention of the country's scientific community, and TRTI was approved as the leader in the system of the Ministry of Higher Education on the problem of creating highly reliable microelectronic equipment and automating its production. L.N. Kolesov himself was appointed Chairman of the Coordination Council on this problem.

The first hybrid thick film in the USSR integrated circuit(series 201 “Trail”) was developed in 1963-65 at the Research Institute of Precision Technology (“Angstrem”), mass production since 1965. Specialists from NIEM (now the Argon Research Institute) took part in the development.

The first semiconductor integrated circuit in the USSR was created on the basis of planar technology, developed in early 1960 at NII-35 (then renamed the Pulsar Research Institute) by a team that was later transferred to NIIME (Mikron). The creation of the first domestic silicon integrated circuit was concentrated on the development and production with military acceptance of the TS-100 series of integrated silicon circuits (37 elements - the equivalent of the circuit complexity of a flip-flop, an analogue of the American IC series SN-51 companies Texas Instruments). Prototype samples and production samples of silicon integrated circuits for reproduction were obtained from the USA. The work was carried out at NII-35 (director Trutko) and the Fryazino Semiconductor Plant (director Kolmogorov) for a defense order for use in an autonomous altimeter for a ballistic missile guidance system. The development included six standard integrated silicon planar circuits of the TS-100 series and, with the organization of pilot production, took three years at NII-35 (from 1962 to 1965). It took another two years to develop factory production with military acceptance in Fryazino (1967).

In parallel, work on the development of an integrated circuit was carried out in the central design bureau at the Voronezh Semiconductor Devices Plant (now -). In 1965, during a visit to the VZPP by the Minister of Electronics Industry A.I. Shokin, the plant was instructed to carry out research work on the creation of a silicon monolithic circuit - R&D “Titan” (Ministry Order No. 92 of August 16, 1965), which was completed ahead of schedule completed by the end of the year. The topic was successfully submitted to the State Commission, and a series of 104 diode-transistor logic microcircuits became the first fixed achievement in the field of solid-state microelectronics, which was reflected in the MEP order No. 403 dated December 30, 1965.

Design Levels

Currently (2014), most integrated circuits are designed using specialized CAD systems, which make it possible to automate and significantly speed up production processes, for example, obtaining topological photomasks.

Classification

Degree of integration

Depending on the degree of integration, the following names of integrated circuits are used:

• small integrated circuit (MIS) - up to 100 elements per chip,
• medium integrated circuit (SIS) - up to 1000 elements per chip,
• large integrated circuit (LSI) - up to 10 thousand elements per chip,
• ultra-large-scale integrated circuit (VLSI) - more than 10 thousand elements in a crystal.

Previously, now outdated names were also used: ultra-large-scale integrated circuit (ULSI) - from 1-10 million to 1 billion elements in a crystal and, sometimes, giga-large-scale integrated circuit (GBIC) - more than 1 billion elements in a crystal. Currently, in the 2010s, the names “UBIS” and “GBIS” are practically not used, and all microcircuits with more than 10 thousand elements are classified as VLSI.

Manufacturing technology

Hybrid microassembly STK403-090, removed from the case

• Semiconductor chip - all elements and inter-element connections are made on one semiconductor crystal (for example, silicon, germanium, gallium arsenide).

• Film integrated circuit - all elements and inter-element connections are made in the form of films:
  • thick film integrated circuit;
  • thin film integrated circuit.
• Hybrid chip (often called microassembly), contains several diodes, transistors and/or other electronic active components. The microassembly may also include unpackaged integrated circuits. Passive microassembly components (resistors, capacitors, inductors) are usually manufactured using thin-film or thick-film technologies on a common, usually ceramic, hybrid chip substrate. The entire substrate with components is placed in a single sealed housing.
• Mixed microcircuit - in addition to the semiconductor crystal, it contains thin-film (thick-film) passive elements located on the surface of the crystal.

Type of processed signal

• Analog-digital.

Manufacturing technologies

Types of logic

The main element of analog microcircuits are transistors (bipolar or field-effect). The difference in transistor manufacturing technology significantly affects the characteristics of microcircuits. Therefore, the manufacturing technology is often indicated in the description of the microcircuit in order to emphasize general characteristics properties and capabilities of the microcircuit. IN modern technologies combine bipolar and field effect transistors to achieve improved performance of microcircuits.

• Microcircuits based on unipolar (field-effect) transistors are the most economical (in terms of current consumption):
  • MOS logic (metal-oxide-semiconductor logic) - microcircuits are formed from field-effect transistors n-MOS or p-MOS type;
  • CMOS logic (complementary MOS logic) - each logic element The microcircuit consists of a pair of complementary (complementary) field-effect transistors ( n-MOS and p-MOP).
• Microcircuits based on bipolar transistors:
  • RTL - resistor-transistor logic (obsolete, replaced by TTL);
  • DTL - diode-transistor logic (obsolete, replaced by TTL);
  • TTL - transistor-transistor logic - microcircuits are made of bipolar transistors with multi-emitter transistors at the input;
  • TTLSh - transistor-transistor logic with Schottky diodes - an improved TTL that uses bipolar transistors with the Schottky effect;
  • ECL - emitter-coupled logic - on bipolar transistors, the operating mode of which is selected so that they do not enter the saturation mode - which significantly increases performance;
  • IIL - integral injection logic.
• Microcircuits using both field-effect and bipolar transistors:

Using the same type of transistors, chips can be created using different methodologies, such as static or dynamic.

CMOS and TTL (TTLS) technologies are the most common logic chips. Where it is necessary to save current consumption, CMOS technology is used, where speed is more important and saving on power consumption is not required, TTL technology is used. The weak point of CMOS microcircuits is their vulnerability to static electricity - just touch the output of the microcircuit with your hand, and its integrity is no longer guaranteed. With the development of TTL and CMOS technologies, the parameters of microcircuits are getting closer and, as a result, for example, the 1564 series of microcircuits are made using CMOS technology, and the functionality and placement in the case are similar to TTL technology.

Microcircuits manufactured using ESL technology are the fastest, but also the most energy consuming, and were used in production computer technology in cases where the most important parameter was the speed of calculation. In the USSR, the most productive computers of the ES106x type were manufactured on ESL microcircuits. Nowadays this technology is rarely used.

Technological process

In the manufacture of microcircuits, the method of photolithography (projection, contact, etc.) is used, in which the circuit is formed on a substrate (usually silicon) obtained by cutting single crystals of silicon with diamond disks into thin wafers. Due to the small linear dimensions of microcircuit elements, the use of visible light and even near ultraviolet radiation for illumination was abandoned.

The following processors were fabricated using UV light (ArF excimer laser, wavelength 193 nm). On average, industry leaders introduced new technological processes according to the ITRS plan every 2 years, doubling the number of transistors per unit area: 45 nm (2007), 32 nm (2009), 22 nm (2011), production of 14 nm started in 2014 , the development of 10 nm processes is expected around 2018.

In 2015, there were estimates that the introduction of new technological processes would slow down.

Quality control

To control the quality of integrated circuits, so-called test structures are widely used.

Purpose

An integrated circuit can have complete, no matter how complex, functionality - up to an entire microcomputer (single-chip microcomputer).

Analog circuits

Analog integrated (micro)scheme (AIS, AIMS) - an integrated circuit whose input and output signals vary according to the law of a continuous function (that is, they are analog signals).

A laboratory prototype of an analog IC was created by Texas Instruments in the USA in 1958. It was a phase shift generator. In 1962, the first series of analog microcircuits appeared - SN52. It contained a low-power low-frequency amplifier, an operational amplifier, and a video amplifier.

In the USSR, a large range of analog integrated circuits was obtained by the end of the 1970s. Their use has made it possible to increase the reliability of devices, simplify equipment setup, and often even eliminate the need Maintenance during operation.

Below is a partial list of devices whose functions can be performed by analog ICs. Often one microcircuit replaces several of them at once (for example, the K174XA42 contains all the components of a superheterodyne FM radio receiver).

• Filters (including piezoelectric effect).
• Analog multipliers.
• Analog attenuators and variable amplifiers.
• Power supply stabilizers: voltage and current stabilizers.
• Switching power supply control microcircuits.
• Signal converters.
• Various sensors.

Analog microcircuits are used in sound amplification and sound reproduction equipment, video recorders, televisions, communications equipment, measuring instruments, analog computers, etc.

In analog computers

• Operational amplifiers (LM101, μA741).

In power supplies

Voltage stabilizer chip KR1170EN8

• Linear voltage stabilizers (KR1170EN12, LM317).
• Switching voltage stabilizers (LM2596, LM2663).

In video cameras and cameras

• CCD matrices (ICX404AL).
• CCD arrays (MLX90255BA).

In sound amplification and sound reproduction equipment

• Audio frequency power amplifiers (LA4420, K174UN5, K174UN7).
• Dual UMZCH for stereophonic equipment (TDA2004, K174UN15, K174UN18).
• Various regulators (K174UN10 - two-channel UMZCH with electronic adjustment of the frequency response, K174UN12 - two-channel volume and balance control).

In measuring instruments In radio transmitting and receiving devices

• AM signal detectors (K175DA1).
• FM signal detectors (K174UR7).
• Mixers (K174PS1).
• High frequency amplifiers (K157ХА1).
• Intermediate frequency amplifiers (K157ХА2, K171UR1).
• Single-chip radio receivers (K174ХА10).

On TVs

• In the radio channel (K174UR8 - amplifier with AGC, IF image and sound detector, K174UR2 - IF image voltage amplifier, synchronous detector, preamplifier video signal, key automatic gain control system).
• In the chromaticity channel (K174AF5 - shaper of color R-, G-, B-signals, K174ХА8 - electronic switch, amplifier-limiter and demodulator of color information signals).
• In scanning units (K174GL1 - frame scanning generator).
• In switching, synchronization, correction and control circuits (K174AF1 - amplitude sync signal selector, horizontal frequency pulse generator, unit for automatic frequency and phase adjustment of the signal, horizontal master pulse generator, K174UP1 - brightness signal amplifier, electronic regulator output signal swing and black level).

Production

The transition to submicron sizes of integral elements complicates the design of AIMS. For example, MOS transistors with a short gate length have a number of features that limit their use in analog blocks: high level of low-frequency flicker noise; a strong spread of threshold voltage and slope, leading to the appearance of a large bias voltage of differential and operational amplifiers; low value of output small-signal resistance and gain of cascades with active load; low breakdown voltage of p-n junctions and drain-source gap, causing a decrease in supply voltage and a decrease dynamic range.

Currently, analog microcircuits are produced by many companies: Analog Devices, Analog Microelectronics, Maxim Integrated Products, National Semiconductor, Texas Instruments, etc.

Digital circuits

Digital integrated circuit(digital microcircuit) is an integrated circuit designed to convert and process signals that change according to the law of a discrete function.

Digital integrated circuits are based on transistor switches that can be in two stable states: open and closed. The use of transistor switches makes it possible to create various logical, trigger and other integrated circuits. Digital integrated circuits are used in discrete information processing devices of electronic computers (computers), automation systems, etc.

• Buffer converters
• (Micro)processors (including CPUs for computers)
• Chips and memory modules
• FPGAs (programmable logic integrated circuits)

Digital integrated circuits have a number of advantages over analog ones:

• Reduced power consumption associated with the use of pulsed electrical signals in digital electronics. When receiving and converting such signals, the active elements of electronic devices (transistors) operate in the “key” mode, that is, the transistor is either “open” - which corresponds to a high-level signal (1), or “closed” - (0), in the first case at There is no voltage drop in the transistor, in the second there is no current flowing through it. In both cases, power consumption is close to 0, in contrast to analog devices, in which most of the time the transistors are in an intermediate (active) state.
• High noise immunity digital devices is associated with a large difference between high (for example, 2.5-5 V) and low (0-0.5 V) level signals. A state error is possible at such a level of interference that a high level is interpreted as a low level and vice versa, which is unlikely. Besides, in digital devices It is possible to use special codes to correct errors.
• The large difference in the levels of high- and low-level signal states (logical “0” and “1”) and a fairly wide range of their permissible changes makes digital technology insensitive to the inevitable dispersion of element parameters in integrated technology, eliminates the need to select components and configure adjustment elements in digital devices.

Analog-to-digital circuits

Analog-to-digital integrated circuit(analog-to-digital microcircuit) - an integrated circuit designed to convert signals varying according to the law of a discrete function into signals varying according to the law of a continuous function, and vice versa.

Often, one chip performs the functions of several devices at once (for example, successive approximation ADCs contain a DAC, so they can perform two-way conversions). List of devices (incomplete) whose functions can be performed by analog-to-digital ICs:

• digital-to-analog (DAC) and analog-to-digital converters (ADC);
• analog multiplexers (while digital (de)multiplexers are purely digital ICs, analog multiplexers contain digital logic elements (usually a decoder) and may contain analog circuitry);
• transceivers (for example, network interface transceiver Ethernet);
• modulators and demodulators;
  • radio modems;
  • teletext, VHF radio text decoders;
  • Fast Ethernet and optical line transceivers;
  • Dial-Up modems;
  • digital TV receivers;
  • optical computer mouse sensor;
• power supply microcircuits for electronic devices - stabilizers, voltage converters, power switches, etc.;
• digital attenuators;
• phase-locked loop (PLL) circuits;
• generators and frequency restorers of clock synchronization;
• basic matrix crystals (BMC): contains both analog and digital circuits.

Chip series

Analog and digital microcircuits are produced in series. A series is a group of microcircuits that have a single design and technological design and are intended for joint use. Microcircuits of the same series, as a rule, have the same power supply voltages and are matched in terms of input and output resistances and signal levels.

Housings

Surface Mount IC Packages

Microassembly with an open-frame microcircuit welded onto a printed circuit board

Specific names

World market

In 2017, the global integrated circuit market was valued at $700 billion.

On September 12, 1958, Texas Instruments (TI) employee Jack Kilby demonstrated to management a strange device - a device made of two pieces of silicon measuring 11.1 x 1.6 mm glued with beeswax on a glass substrate. It was a three-dimensional mock-up - a prototype of an integrated circuit (IC) of a generator, proving the possibility of manufacturing all circuit elements based on one semiconductor material. This date is celebrated in the history of electronics as the birthday of integrated circuits.

Integrated circuits (chips, ICs) include electronic devices of varying complexity, in which all similar elements are manufactured simultaneously in a single technological cycle, i.e. using integrated technology. Unlike printed circuit boards(in which all connecting conductors are simultaneously manufactured in a single cycle using integrated technology), resistors, capacitors, diodes and transistors are similarly formed in ICs. In addition, many ICs are manufactured simultaneously, from tens to thousands

Previously, two groups of ICs were distinguished: hybrid and semiconductor

In hybrid ICs (HICs), all conductors and passive elements are formed on the surface of a microcircuit substrate (usually ceramic) using integrated technology. Active elements in the form of packaged diodes, transistors and semiconductor IC crystals are installed on the substrate individually, manually or automatically

In semiconductor ICs, connecting, passive and active elements are formed in a single technological cycle on the surface of the semiconductor material with partial invasion of its volume using diffusion methods. At the same time, from several tens to several thousand ICs are manufactured on one semiconductor wafer

The first hybrid ICs.

GIS is a product of the evolutionary development of micromodules and ceramic board mounting technology. Therefore, they appeared unnoticed; there is no generally accepted date of birth of GIS and no generally recognized author.

Semiconductor ICs were a natural and inevitable result of the development of semiconductor technology, but they required the generation of new ideas and the creation of new technology, which have both their birth dates and their authors

The first hybrid and semiconductor ICs appeared in the USSR and the USA almost simultaneously and independently of each other

Back in the late 1940s, the Centralab company in the USA developed the basic principles for the manufacture of thick-film ceramic-based printed circuit boards

And in the early 1950s, the RCA company invented thin-film technology: by spraying various materials in a vacuum and depositing them through a mask onto special substrates, they learned how to simultaneously produce many miniature film connecting conductors, resistors and capacitors on a single ceramic substrate

Compared to thick-film technology, thin-film technology provided the possibility of more precise manufacturing of smaller-sized topology elements, but required more complex and expensive equipment. Devices manufactured on ceramic boards using thick-film or thin-film technology are called “hybrid circuits.”

But the micromodule became a hybrid integrated circuit at the moment when unpackaged transistors and diodes were used in it and the structure was sealed in a common housing

IN THE USSR

The first GIS (modules of the “Kvant” type, later designated IS series 116) in the USSR were developed in 1963 at NIIRE (later NPO Leninets, Leningrad) and in the same year its pilot plant began their serial production. In these GIS, semiconductor ICs “R12-2”, developed in 1962 by the Riga Semiconductor Devices Plant, were used as active elements

Undoubtedly, the Kvant modules were the first in the world of GIS with two-level integration - they used semiconductor ICs rather than discrete packaged transistors as active elements

IN THE USA

The appearance of thick-film GIS, as the main element base of the new IBM System / 360 computer, was first announced by IBM in 1964

Semiconductor ICs of the “Micrologic” series from Fairchild and “SN-51” from TI were still inaccessibly rare and prohibitively expensive for commercial use, building a large computer. Therefore, IBM Corporation, taking the design of a flat micromodule as a basis, developed its series of thick-film GIS, announced under the general name (as opposed to “micromodules”) is “SLT-modules” (Solid Logic Technology - solid logic technology. Usually the word “solid” is translated into Russian as “solid”, which is absolutely illogical. Indeed, the term “SLT-modules” " was introduced by IBM as a contrast to the term "micromodule" and should reflect their difference. The word "solid" has other meanings - "solid", "whole", which successfully emphasize the difference between "SLT-modules" and "micromodules"

The SLT module was a square ceramic thick-film microplate with pressed-in vertical pins. Connecting conductors and resistors were applied to its surface using silk-screen printing, and unpackaged transistors were installed. Capacitors, if necessary, were installed next to the SLT module

Although externally almost identical (micromodules are slightly taller), SLT modules differ from flat micromodules in their higher density of elements, low power consumption, high performance and high reliability

In addition, SLT technology was quite easy to automate, so they could be produced at a low enough cost for use in commercial equipment. This is exactly what IBM needed. Following IBM, other companies began to produce GIS, for which GIS became a commercial product.

In early February 2014, the fifty-fifth anniversary of the appearance in the world community of such an integral part of modern circuit technology as the integrated circuit.

We remind you that in 1959, the Federal Patent Office of the United States of America issued a patent to Texas Instruments for the creation of an integrated circuit.

This event was noted as the birth of the electronics era and all the benefits arising from its use.

Indeed, the integrated circuit is the basis of most electrical appliances known to us.

The idea of ​​creating an integrated circuit first appeared in the early fifties of the last century. The main argument for its appearance was the miniaturization and reduction in the cost of electrical appliances. For a long time, thoughts about its implementation were simply in the air, despite the fact that branches of circuit technology such as television and radio, as well as computer technology, were actively developing in the world.

The creation of an integrated circuit implied the abandonment of unnecessary wires, mounting panels, and insulation in the production of circuitry using diodes and semiconductor transistors. However, for a long time no one succeeded in realizing such thoughts. Only after the active work of such a talented and well-known engineer to modern scientists as Jack Kilby (winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics for the invention of the integrated circuit in 2000), the first microcircuit was presented in 1958. Almost six months later, the invention was patented by the company for which Kilby worked (Texas Instruments).

Of course, now we can state the fact that the first microcircuit of the German scientist Kilby was completely unusable. However, more and more later integrated circuits were created on its basis, one of which was Robert Noyce’s technology - a silicon planar chip.

R. Noyce held a high position at Fairchald Semiconductor; more precisely, he was one of its founders. Noyce's work was patented almost immediately after Kilby's patent was received. However, unlike Kilby’s chip, Noyce’s development has gained popularity among major electrical equipment manufacturers. This caused a dispute between Texas Instruments and Fairchald Semiconductor and subsequent litigation until 1969. As a result, Noyce was named the first inventor of microcircuits. Although this coincidence of circumstances did not upset the owners of both companies at all. A few years earlier, they came to a unanimous decision and recognized both scientists as the founders of the integrated circuit with equal rights, giving them the highest awards of the US scientific and engineering communities - the National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology.

If you dig deep into the past, you can say with confidence that before Noyce and Kilby introduced the microcircuit to the world, a fairly large number of scientists worked on this idea and proposed no less advanced designs. Among them is engineer Werner Jacobi (Germany). His development was even patented in 1949. In the patent, the engineer sketched the design of a microcircuit consisting of 5 transistors on a common substrate. Later, in 1952, the principle of integrating circuit components into a single unit was described by the English engineer D. Dammer. After another five years, Jeffrey Dummer announced the first working example of an integrated circuit flip-flop based on four transistors. Unfortunately, English military specialists did not appreciate Dummer's invention, although they should have. As a result, all the scientist’s work was suspended. Later, Dummer's invention was called the progenitor of modern microcircuits, and the scientist himself was called the prophet of the integrated circuit.

In 1957, the United States of America accepted an application by another engineer, Bernard Oliver, for a patent for the technology he described for producing a monolithic block using three planar transistors.

Among the names of the prophets of the modern microcircuit are the initials of engineer Harvick Johnson, who patented several types of creating electronic components of circuits on one chip, but never received a single document allowing the implementation of his discoveries. One of these methods was used by Jack Kilby, who received all of Johnson's laurels.

February 6, 1959, exactly 55 years ago, The US Federal Patent Office has issued a patent for the invention of an integrated circuit to Texas Instruments. Thus, the birth of technology was officially recognized, without which, today we would not have at hand the vast majority of the electronic devices we are familiar with and the capabilities associated with them.

The idea of ​​an integrated circuit in the late 50s, as they say, was in the air. The transistor has already been created; rapidly developing radio and television circuitry, not to mention computer technology, required finding solutions for miniaturization; The consumer market needed cheaper equipment. The idea of ​​throwing out everything superfluous from a circuit using semiconductor transistors and diodes (mounting panels, wires, housings and insulators), collecting its essence into one “brick” - n-p junctions - inevitably had to come to someone’s mind.

And so it happened. She has arrived. Moreover, several talented engineers at once, but only one of them is today considered to be the “father of the integrated circuit” - Jack Kilby, an employee of Texas Instruments, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2000 for the invention of the integrated circuit. On July 24, 1958, he wrote down the idea of ​​a new device in his work diary; on September 12, he demonstrated a working sample of the microcircuit, prepared and applied for a patent, and received it on February 6, 1959.

In fairness, it should be admitted that the design of the Kilby germanium chip was practically unsuitable for industrial development, which cannot be said about the silicon planar chip developed by Robert Noyce.

Robert Noyce, who worked at Fairchald Semiconductor (he was one of the founders of this company), almost simultaneously and independently of Kilby, developed his own version of the integrated circuit design, patented it and... plunged Texas Instruments and Fairchald Semiconductor into a continuous patent war for 10 years, which ended On November 6, 1969, the decision of the US Patent and Customs Court of Appeals, according to which the sole inventor of the microcircuit should be considered... Robert Noyce! The US Supreme Court confirmed this decision.

However, even before the court verdict, in 1966, the companies agreed to recognize each other as equal rights to the integrated circuit, and both inventors, Kilby and Noyce, were awarded the same highest awards from the US scientific and engineering communities: National Medal of Science and National Medal of Technology.

But there were others who, much earlier than Kilby and Noyce, formulated the design principle and even patented an integrated circuit. German engineer Werner Jacobi, in his 1949 patent, draws the design of a microcircuit of 5 transistors on a common substrate. On May 7, 1952, English radio engineer Geoffrey Dummer described the principle of integrating circuit components into a single unit in his public speech at a symposium on electronic components in Washington (Jack Kilby, by the way, was also present at this symposium); in 1957, he presented a working example of the world's first integrated circuit trigger with 4 transistors. Specialists from the British military department did not understand the new product and did not appreciate its potential. The work was closed. Subsequently, Dummer was called the “prophet of the integrated circuit” in his homeland; he was invited to participate in many national and international projects for the development of electronic technologies.

In the USA in October of the same year, Bernard Oliver filed a patent application, which described a method for manufacturing a monolithic block of three planar transistors. On May 21, 1953, engineer Harvick Johnson submitted a proposal for several ways to form a variety of electronic circuit components on a single chip. It's funny that one of the options proposed by Johnson was independently implemented and patented by Jack Kilby 6 years later. Amazing!

Detailed biographies of all the inventors of the integrated circuit, descriptions of the events and circumstances of the great, dare I say it, invention can be easily found by anyone today: all this is on the Internet. On the birthday of the microcircuit, I would like to “give the floor” to all three: Jeffrey Dummer, Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce. At different times in interviews, they shared memories of “how it was,” their thoughts and experiences. I chose some sayings that I found interesting...

Jeffrey Dummer:
“With the advent of the transistor and work on semiconductors in general, today it seems that the question of creating electronic equipment in the form of a solid block without any connecting wires can be raised. This block can consist of layers of insulating, conducting, rectifying and signal amplifying materials. Defining the electronic functions of components and connecting them properly can be done by cutting out sections of individual layers."
“In one of my books, I explained the reason for my failure as great fatigue from endless bureaucratic wars, but perhaps this is not the only reason. The fact is that no one wanted to take risks. The War Department will not enter into a contract for a device that has not been brought to an industrial standard. Some developers did not want to take on a task unknown to them. It's a chicken and egg situation. Americans are financial adventurers, and in this country (meaning England. - Yu.R.) everything is happening too slowly.”

Jack Kilby:
“After the transistor came on the scene, there was a renewed interest in what some time ago began to be called “miniaturization.” It was never an end in itself, but for a huge number of applications it seemed very convenient to collect more components in one place and pack them tightly. And then the Navy started a project on proximity fuses. They really needed a device where all the electronic components were assembled on a plate of no more than a square inch. They had already spent a fair amount of money, but still did not get what they wanted... The transistor solved all the problems. In general, then and now, if you have a new product and it is of interest to the military, or you can arrange it in such a way that it will be of interest to the military, then, as a rule, you will have no problem working because you will have funding. This was true in those distant times, and it is true now.”

“The main motive for working on an integrated circuit was to reduce the cost of producing equipment. True, at that time I did not really imagine the scale of the possible reduction in cost and how much the cheapness factor would expand the field of application of electronics in completely different areas. In 1958, a single silicon transistor, which also did not sell very well, cost about $10. Today, $10 can buy more than 100 million transistors. I couldn't have foreseen this. And I’m sure no one imagined this was possible.”

“We started developing the first microcalculator (pictured) in order to expand the market for integrated circuits: the mass market is important for them. We sold the first calculators for $500, today they sell for $4–5 and have become a disposable product. This is about the issue of cheaper prices.”

“Is the invention of the integrated circuit my greatest achievement in life? Oh, definitely!..”

Robert Noyce:
“At Fairchild, we started working on an engineering project that the military called “molecular engineering.” It was funded by the Air Force. It was assumed that we should create some kind of structure, built from molecule-on-molecule or even atom-on-atom structures. And such a structure should perform the functions of an electronic device. This was not exactly our profile, since the strength of the electronics industry has always been in synthesizing something from simple elements, rather than trying to invent a complex element. Simple circuit elements are created: capacitors, resistors, amplifier elements, diodes, etc., and then the required function is synthesized from them. Basically, something has gone wrong with molecular engineering.”

“You're asking whether it was primarily a marketing decision to get into integrated circuits. I think not. I think that most advances of this kind were not predicted by marketers and were not consciously prepared by them. They rather arose from logic technical progress. That time could be characterized as follows: “Now we can do this. Why don’t you try to sell it?” And today someone from marketing comes and says: “If we had this, we could sell it.” Do you feel where the difference is? In the case of the integrated circuit, the most exciting thing was the feeling that there was a need for this device. Everyone has. The military, the civilians... You see, everyone!”