Integrated Circuit Technology Development

Integrated circuits are also called integrated circuits, which are miniature electronic devices. This miniature structure is completed by a certain process and has the required circuit functions. It contains a series of components such as diodes, capacitors, resistors and inductors. , these components are interconnected and fabricated in a small dielectric substrate that is housed in a tube. In this way, the volume of the circuit is greatly reduced, and the number of welding points is also reduced, so that the reliability of the electronic components is greatly improved.

In recent years, high and new technologies such as information technology and software technology have developed rapidly, which is closely related to the development and application of integrated circuit technology. Integrated circuit technology is not only the cornerstone of the development of information technology, but also the main development direction of computer network technology. It is considered to be one of the greatest engineering technologies of the 20th century. my country is in a critical period of economic transformation. The development of integrated circuit technology is related to the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries and the development of the country's economy and society. It is the top priority of modern industry and technological development. Based on this, this paper briefly studies the basic indicators and development trends of integrated circuit technology.

Semiconductor integrated circuits have many advantages, such as low power consumption, high integration, relatively small size, and large industrial scale. It is precisely because of these advantages that communication components based on semiconductor integrated circuits are widely used , For example, the manufacture of a series of terminal equipment such as mobile phones, landline phones, notebook computers, and digital codecs is inseparable from the use of semiconductor integrated circuits. The following will focus on the application of semiconductor integrated circuits in communication systems.

1. Indicators of integrated circuit technology level

The so-called integrated circuit, as the name implies, is to use semiconductor technology to integrate the components required for circuits such as diodes, transistors, resistors, capacitors, and inductance elements on one or several small semiconductor chips or dielectric substrates, and form a complete Finally, the fabricated circuit is packaged in the tube shell, and the microstructure with circuit function thus formed is an integrated circuit. Integrated circuits are an important basic industry for national economic development, and their technological level determines the industrial level of integrated circuits to a certain extent. The following is a brief introduction to several main indicators for measuring the technological level of integrated circuits.

(1) Integration: The integration of an integrated circuit refers to the number of transistors contained on an IC chip. In the case of the same chip area, the higher the integration, the more the number of integrated components, and the greater the circuit function. The more powerful the chip is, the performance such as chip speed, reliability, and power consumption has been significantly improved. At the same time, the cost of the chip has been greatly reduced, and the weight and volume of the chip have also been reduced. It can be seen that the degree of integration is an important indicator to measure the advancement of IC technology.

(2) Feature size: For electronic components, the feature size refers to the smallest size in a semiconductor device. By reducing the feature size, the integration level of the IC chip can be effectively improved and its performance can be optimized. The development of lithography technology is the premise of reducing the feature size of integrated circuits. In recent years, lithography technology has been improving day by day, and the feature size of integrated circuits has become smaller and smaller. At present, the integration of 0.18μm, 0.15μm, and 0.13μm levels Circuits have been mass-produced, and in the market, 65nm and 90nm integrated chips have mature products.

(3) Wafer diameter: In order to improve the integration of integrated circuits, it is often necessary to increase the chip area appropriately, but it should be noted that the increase in the chip area will lead to a decrease in the number of chips contained in each wafer, thus Reduce production efficiency, resulting in increased costs. Increasing the wafer diameter can effectively solve this problem. At present, the mainstream wafer sizes of integrated circuits are 8 inches and 12 inches, and the research and development and application of wafer sizes of 14 inches and above are also the general trend.

(4) Packaging: IC packaging first adopted the socket packaging method. In order to meet the needs of high-density assembly of electronic equipment, surface mount packaging technology has gradually replaced the traditional socket packaging method. In some electronic devices, surface packaging can effectively save space, optimize performance, and reduce packaging costs. Compared with the traditional socket packaging method, the cost of the circuit board under the surface package has been reduced by as much as 60%. In addition, the development of system-in-package technology has been relatively rapid in recent years. System-in-package technology is conducive to optimizing system performance, shortening the development cycle, and playing a positive role in improving packaging efficiency and reducing costs. Especially in Bluetooth modules, memory cards, power amplifiers and other low-cost, small-area, short-cycle, portable electronic products, the application advantages of system packaging technology are very obvious.

2.The development trend of integrated circuit technology

1. The size of integrated circuits is gradually reduced

From a vertical point of view, with the development of various new technologies, the integration level of integrated circuit chips has increased year by year, basically increasing by 4 times every three years, while the processing feature size has continued to shrink. This is the famous Moore's Law, established by Intel Corporation Dr. Moore, one of the founders, proposed. In recent years, the competition in the integrated circuit chip market has become increasingly fierce. Actively improving product performance and cost performance is the key to long-term development, and it is also the driving force for the development of IC technology. Reducing the feature size is conducive to improving the integration level, thereby improving product performance and cost performance. As far as the current situation is concerned, circuits with feature sizes below 22nm have been produced, and integrated circuits are gradually approaching the physical limit. It should be noted that due to the limitation of process technology and economic endurance, the scale limit needs to be defined. Although there is no clear conclusion yet, the development of miniaturization is still the main trend, and the feature size of integrated circuits is still developing according to Moore's Law . Especially with the improvement of IC design and process technology, the scale of IC is expanding, and the complexity is getting higher and higher. In a chip, the number of integrated transistors is increasing, and integrated circuit technology has gradually developed from the 3G era to the 3T era. The storage capacity is further increased. And the speed of integrated circuits is getting faster and faster, and the data transmission speed has developed from Gbps to Tbps. In the past 50 years, IC technology has developed rapidly, IC technology design rules have become smaller and smaller, and transistor prices have gradually decreased, which is also the development trend of integrated circuits.

2. System integrated chip

System integrated chip is also called SOC, which can combine various functions such as microprocessor, analog IP core, digital IP core and off-chip memory control structure, so as to improve the stability of circuit system design, and also benefit Reduce power consumption, thereby effectively solving the problems of high energy consumption and poor stability of traditional integrated circuits. In the process of future development, it will inevitably lead to a technological revolution in the electronic information industry with chips as the core.

3. Emergence of new materials and new technologies for integrated circuits

Of all the materials for integrated circuits, germanium was the first to be used, followed by silicon. For special integrated circuits such as optoelectronic devices, some compound semiconductor materials, such as cadmium sulfide and gallium arsenide, are generally used. Compared with other materials, silicon materials have great advantages in terms of electrical and physical properties and cost, which also makes it the mainstream material for current integrated circuits. Silicon single crystal materials are also in continuous development, and the diameter of silicon wafers is gradually increasing, and has reached the level of 16 and 18 inches at present.

4. Application of integrated circuits in new fields

Today's era is the information age, and integrated circuits have also ushered in a new peak of development in the information age, especially with the maturity of various key technologies of integrated circuits, their applications in various fields are becoming more and more extensive. In smart phones The application and development in various new fields such as mobile phones, smart cars, and linkage security are also worth looking forward to. With the continuous development of smart phones, the new mobile phone chip design technology is getting more and more attention. The key lies in adaptive computing. Using adaptive computing technology can effectively refresh the real circuit of the chip. Compared with the current fixed chip It is said that a single chip can realize the functions of several chips, and at the same time, it is beneficial to improve the speed of the chip and reduce the cost and power consumption. In addition, in the fields of vision repair, train station security system, face recognition, automobile intelligence, etc., the application of integrated circuit technology is becoming more and more extensive, and has gradually penetrated into all aspects of people's lives.

3. Application of integrated circuits in communication systems

In today's information age, people's lives are affected by information technology in all aspects, and all walks of life are affected by it. As the foundation of information technology, microelectronics technology has a great impact on the development of information technology. The core and key of microelectronics technology is the integrated circuit, which is also the foundation and foundation of the development of the entire information society, so it is necessary to study and explore the integrated circuit in depth. The communication network is changing from the previous large volume to small volume, low speed to high speed, and high energy consumption to low energy consumption. This transformation requires the network capacity and speed to be guaranteed. The research on this transformation has become one of the hot spots in the communication field at this stage.

1. Application of integrated circuits in wired communication systems

Dense wave multiplexing technology and erbium-doped fiber amplifier appeared in the late twentieth century, which made optical fiber communication show a strong advantage and became the first choice in wired communication network. The transmission capacity, transmission distance and transmission speed are greatly enhanced. Since then, the era of early copper wire communication has slowly ended. Today in the 21st century, optical fiber communication continues to develop, and a series of technologies such as microelectronics, optoelectronics, and optoelectronics have emerged. Nowadays, one optical fiber can complete the transmission of hundreds of wavelengths, and the transmission distance can reach more than 1000Km.

One of the most critical components in optical communication is the laser source. The life of semiconductor lasers has been very low before. Since the 1970s, the problem of the life of semiconductor lasers has been solved, and long-life semiconductor lasers have been successfully developed. This It laid the foundation for the realization of optical communication. This kind of laser has many advantages, such as: small size and high working reliability, which makes this kind of laser an ideal light source in optical fiber communication. The core device in the composition of semiconductor lasers is an integrated circuit, and the basis of an integrated circuit is a silicon-based compound semiconductor. Nowadays, the realization of DFB laser is precisely by means of optoelectronic monolithic integration technology, and this kind of laser is widely used in the field of optical communication.

Optical amplifiers and optical detectors are important components in optical fiber communication, and the composition of their core components is completed by optoelectronic integration technology. This technology can greatly improve the performance of all aspects of the device, and concentrate the devices on the same chip, so that the volume and power consumption can be optimized. The realization of the optical multiplexer or demultiplexer in the DWDM system is also completed by integrated circuit technology, and is currently being explored in the direction of all-optical processing and high-speed transmission. Integrated optics is produced under the background of the wide application of integrated circuits, and now it has continuously developed into a new optical discipline.

2. Application of integrated circuits in wireless communication systems

Nowadays, my country's information society is developing at a speed that we can't imagine. Wireless communication has many advantages, such as: strong timeliness, flexibility and convenience, etc. The potential of this communication technology is very broad. The second-generation mobile communication system is what we often call 2G. This system was commercialized in the 1980s. Since then, in just over 30 years, wireless local area network, Bluetooth and Global System for Mobile Communications, as well as 3G Even 4G has swept the world and spread to the homes of ordinary people. Various wireless terminals and mobile phones have gradually entered into every aspect of people's lives. For example, hotel reservations, movie ticket reservations, train and air ticket reservations, and travel ticket reservations can be completed through mobile phones. At the same time, the development of wireless communication equipment is becoming more and more miniaturized, with higher capacity and lower power consumption. The realization of miniaturization depends on the integration of electronic components. At present, the core chip size of mobile terminals has been reduced to less than 30 square centimeters. The realization of this transformation is absolutely inseparable from the development of integrated circuit technology. Therefore, it is very necessary to study and explore integrated circuits.

Both the baseband unit and the radio frequency unit are key components of a wireless communication terminal, and both components are composed of integrated circuits. Complementary metal oxide semiconductor integrated circuit is called CMOS for short. The composition of the baseband unit is completed by this integrated circuit, and the composition of the radio frequency unit is completed by semiconductor devices. Integrated circuit technology is being widely used in signal processing units and switching equipment of wireless communication base stations, which enables the development and realization of efficient signal exchange processes. It can be seen that with the help of the development of integrated circuits, wireless communication has rapidly realized the characteristics of fast and small, providing users with satisfactory services, enriching and satisfying, and facilitating all aspects of people's lives.

4.The application prospects of integrated circuits

The communication field and integrated circuit technology are like the relationship between fish and water. The communication field has made great progress since the integrated circuit technology has made great progress. Similarly, the continuous emergence of new technologies in the communication industry has also made the integrated circuit technology like a fish in water. developed rapidly. Nowadays, communication is changing to optical communication, and the size of communication components is also getting smaller and smaller, and it is leaping towards the nanometer level. In the future, optical integration will replace electrical integration, and it is believed that there will be a qualitative leap in the field of communication in the near future.

1. Application prospect in optical fiber communication system

The development and research of integrated circuits in optical fiber communication systems will focus on new high-speed all-optical devices. This all-optical device should have the characteristics of being able to realize all-optical signal processing and easy integration, which is the basis for the completion and realization of all-optical communication. Nowadays, there are still some problems to be solved in the optical communication system, and the speed of the optical communication network needs to be improved. It is believed that in the future, with the continuous development of science and technology, the application and innovation of new high-speed plenoptic devices will be realized.

2. Application prospects in wireless communication systems

The terminal chip of wireless equipment plays a huge role in wireless communication. This kind of chip has been developing in the direction of miniaturization, but the future research hotspots are not limited to this, and should be researched in a diversified direction, that is, more An integrated circuit module with business, multi-function, and multiple working modes. In addition, there are some technologies that require continuous in-depth research and innovation, such as smart antenna technology, information transmission between wireless communication terminals, and software radio technology. These technologies will add luster to the development of communication integrated circuit technology.

Summarize

To sum up, looking at the development history of emerging technologies and industries of electronic information in the world in recent years, we can find that integrated circuits are the core and development foundation of contemporary electronic information technology, which is related to the development of the national economy and society, and is a typical foundation Sexual, strategic and leading industries. This paper briefly introduces the concept of integrated circuits, sorts out and summarizes the technological level indicators of integrated circuits, and finally looks forward to its future development trend, aiming to further promote the development of integrated circuit technology.

The market economic potential and development prospects of silicon integrated circuits are still very broad, and at least there will be a long time to follow Moore's law to develop steadily. At present, there is also a deeper research on microelectronics technology, which has gradually developed from the nanometer era to the deep nanometer era. In the communication industry and field, there is still a lot of room for improvement in integrated circuit technology, and there are still some difficulties and problems that need to be studied and solved. Nevertheless, integrated circuits will play a more important role with the improvement of material manufacturing level and the continuous development of science and technology. It is believed that the development of integrated circuits will bring better promotion to the progress of social economy and the communication industry and field . The overall benefit of communication engineering is affected by the level of communication engineering technology. Therefore, in the future, we need to keep up with the pace of the times and increase the research and exploration of communication integrated circuits, so as to improve the construction level of communication engineering, and then promote the whole industry. The development and progress of human society.

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