Creating the Future with LSI

Tadahiro Kuroda (Professor, Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering)

Computers and communication terminals are becoming smaller and cheaper every year (Photo 1). For example, over the past 60 years, computers have shrunk to about one-millionth of their original size and price. Their computation time has also been reduced to about one-billionth. This is called downsizing. This downsizing has been made possible by large-scale integration (LSI) circuits.

The performance and cost of LSI can be improved exponentially by miniaturizing the processing dimensions of the chip. Memory storage capacity quadruples every three years. In 10 years, it will increase 100-fold, and in 15 years, 1,000-fold. Furthermore, the operating speed of microprocessors doubles every two years, becoming 32 times faster in 10 years. No other technology in human history has advanced so rapidly.

Miniaturization uses nanotechnology (nano means 10 to the power of -9) (Photo 2). For example, the gate oxide film that controls the operation of a transistor is 1.2 nm thick, which is about the thickness of four molecules. On the other hand, the integration density and operating speed are in the giga range (giga means 10 to the power of 9) (Photo 3). Using cutting-edge technology, billions of transistors can be integrated onto a 1 cm square chip. A 16 Gb (16 billion bits) memory or 80 microprocessors can be integrated onto a single chip. It can also perform 200 billion floating-point operations per second. This performance surpasses that of former supercomputers.

The number of transistors that can be integrated on a chip reached the world's population in 2007 and will likely exceed the number of neurons in the human brain in 2010.

To further increase integration density, our laboratory is researching a technology to stack multiple semiconductor chips and combine them as if they were a single chip (Photo 4). This is analogous to turning a single-story building into a skyscraper; the footprint is reduced, and the floors are closer together, speeding up the transmission of information (signals).

These large-scale integration circuits are designed using state-of-the-art computers. Future technologies and societies are born from cutting-edge technology. However, it goes without saying that human creativity—thinking about what to create and what kind of future to build—is of the utmost importance.

The future I envision is a society like the following. Computers and communication devices will continue to downsize, eventually blending into our daily lives and disappearing from sight. Computers and communication devices the size of 1 cc will emerge, and by being embedded in various objects, these objects will begin to think, collaborate, and understand human intentions. In other words, the space around us will become intelligent and support our lives. This is my vision and blueprint for the future: a society built on a foundation of security, safety, and prosperity.

LSI will continue to evolve rapidly in this way, creating the society and civilization of the future. The joy of LSI research lies in unlocking its potential and giving shape to the dreams of future civilization.