Talk:Very-large-scale integration

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Why do we have both Integrated circuit#VLSI and Very-large-scale integration? Noel 16:13, 2 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Integrated circuit#VLSI explains the basic differences and advances in IC technology, whereas their individual pages (VLSI, SoC) go into more detail than would be appropriate in their section of Integrated circuit. This is a fairly common practice on Wikipedia. Boffy b 12:18, 2005 Jan 11 (UTC)

Contents 1 tools 2 problems 3 Outdated 4 vlsi 5 merge

[edit] tools

Could someone put a list of popular layout software tools? Thanks. 66.75.49.213 23:06, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

Some tools are listed near the end of the electronic design automation article. Should this VLSI article mention that that article has the tools? --75.37.227.177 14:26, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] problems

Came from the Quantum tunnelling page and was surprised there was nothing about it or any other potentional problems (heat, arcs)

[edit] Outdated

"As of mid-2004, billion-transistor processors are not yet economically feasible for most uses, but they are achievable in laboratory settings, and they are clearly on the horizon as semiconductor fabrication moves from the current generation of 90 nanometer (90 nm) processes to the next 65 nm and 45 nm generations."

Maybe it's time to update that.. Intel is in the throws of releasing Monticeto, a 1.7 billion transistor, dual core processor on a 65nm process. 70.35.227.160 20:33, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] vlsi

Very-large-scale integration (VLSI) is the process of creating integrated circuits by combining thousands of transistor-based circuits into a single chip. VLSI began in the 1970s when complex semiconductor and communication technologies were being developed.

The first semiconductor chips held one transistor each. Subsequent advances added more and more transistors, and as a consequence more individual functions or systems were integrated over time. The microprocessor is a VLSI device.

The first "generation" of computers relied on vacuum tubes. Then came discrete semiconductor devices, followed by integrated circuits. The first Small-Scale Integration (SSI) ICs had small numbers of devices on a single chip — diodes, transistors, resistors and capacitors (no inductors though), making it possible to fabricate one or more logic gates on a single device. The fourth generation consisted of Large-Scale Integration (LSI), i.e. systems with at least a thousand logic gates. The natural successor to LSI was VLSI (many tens of thousands of gates on a single chip). Current technology has moved far past this mark and today's microprocessors have many millions of gates and hundreds of millions of individual transistors.

As of mid-2006, billion-transistor processors are just on the horizon, with the first being Intel's Montecito Itanium Server. This is expected to become more commonplace as semiconductor fabrication moves from the current generation of 90 nanometer (90 nm) processes to the next 65 nm and 45 nm generations.

At one time, there was an effort to name and calibrate various levels of large-scale integration above VLSI. Terms like Ultra-large-scale Integration (ULSI) were used. But the huge number of gates and transistors available on common devices has rendered such fine distinctions moot. Terms suggesting more-than-VLSI levels of integration are no longer in widespread use. Even VLSI is now somewhat quaint, given the common assumption that all microprocessors are VLSI or better.

[edit] merge

The VHSIC article currently claims "VHSIC" is another, less common, name for "VLSI". So I think they should all be in the same article, like Puma and Mountain Lion are both in the same article. --75.37.227.177 14:16, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

No, that's not what it claims. VHSIC is a much more narrow term referring to a specific US government program. There's probably enough info out there to write an adequate article on it, but it should not be attempted as part of the VLSI article. Dicklyon 15:37, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

See for example this book, or this. Dicklyon 15:40, 2 August 2007 (UTC)