Contents



Preface

With the world marching inexorably towards the fourth industrial revolution (IR 4.0), one is now embracing lives with artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoTs), virtual reality (VR) and 5G technology. Wherever we are, whatever we are doing, there are electronic devices that we rely indispensably on. While some of these technologies, such as those fueled with smart, autonomous systems, are seemingly precocious; others have existed for quite a while. These devices range from simple home appliances, entertainment media to complex aeronautical instruments. Clearly, the daily lives of mankind today are interwoven seamlessly

Surprising as it may seem, the cornerstone that empowers these electronic devices is nothing more than a mere diminutive semiconductor cube block. More colloquially referred to as the Very-Large-Scale-Integration (VLSI) chip or an integrated circuit (IC) chip or simply a microchip, this semiconductor cube block, approximately the size of a grain of rice, is composed of millions to billions of transistors. The transistors are interconnected in such a way that allows electrical circuitries for certain applications to be realized. Some of these chips serve specific permanent applications and are known as Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICS); while others are computing processors that can be programmed for diverse applications. The computer processor, together with its supporting hardware and user interfaces,

In this book, a variety of topics related to microchips are extensively illustrated. The topics encompass the physics of operation of the microchip device, as well as its

Chapter 1 presents an overview of microchips. In order to allow readers to appreciate the efforts researchers have sacrificed to arrive at the cutting-edge technology that we savor today, the historical development of microchips and its fundamental building block, i.e. the transistor, is first illustrated. This is then followed by a brief explanation of Moore's law – the law that governs the technological progression of microchips. A brief introduction to the field effect transistor – particularly the MOSFET, its operational principle, and the precipitating factors that necessitate the evolution of the planar MOSFETs to the three-dimensional FinFETs is also covered. At the end of the chapter, a walkthrough of the chip fabrication process is succinctly

In Chapter 2, an overview of the main challenges and design techniques for ultralow voltage and low-power analog integrated circuits in nanoscale technologies is illustrated. New design challenges and limitations linked to achieving low voltage operation, low process fluctuation, low device mismatch, and other effects are discussed. In the later part of the chapter, conventional and unconventional design techniques (bulk-driven approach, floating-gate, dynamic threshold, etc.) to design analog integrated circuits towards ultra-low voltage systems and applications are described. Examples of ultra-low voltage analog microchip blocks (such as an

with electronics.

is known as an embedded system.

design methods and applications.

described.
