Solid State: VLSI: Some fundamental challenges: Defining and designing the products made possible by very-large-scale integration are first on the list of priority tasks

Abstract

A tremendous interest in VLSI is all around us. There is much talk of electron-beam and X-ray lithography tools to achieve VLSI's submicron structures. In all of the discussions, the implication is that VLSI will allow us to enjoy the same kind of fantastic low-cost advantages that previous IC technologies have provided in electronic products. Perhaps. But if the semiconductor industry had today a commercial million-transistor technology like VLSI, I'm not so sure it would know what to do with it. Besides products containing memory devices, it isn't clear how future VLSI can be used in electronic products.