micro electronics

Microelectronics is about the miniaturization of electronic components and the integration of such components into integrated circuits(IC). The prerequisites for microelectronics were already created in the 1950s with the development of semiconductor technology. This technology forms the basis for many active and passive components, for various transistors, diodes, light-emitting d iodes, etc.

The essential factors for microelectronics are the further increasing miniaturization and integration. Both are reflected in the integration density and thus in the multiplication of the number of active electronic components on a chip. Whereas in the seventies there were `10^4` transistors on a chip, there are currently `10^8`, which is directly related to narrower structure widths, which are around 50 nm. Technologies with smaller structure widths are classified as nanoelectronics.

Integrated circuit (IC) of the Intel CPU 4004, photo: Intel

Miniaturization affects both analog and digital circuits. Microprocessors and microcontrollers are just two examples of digital circuits, which continue in the many semiconductor memories. The same applies to the miniaturization of discrete passive components and analog circuits, such as oscillators, amplifiers, pulse shapers, filters, rectifiers, comparators, etc., which are implemented as System-on-Chip( SoC) or as Network-on-Chip( NoC).