超大规模集成技术_翻译.doc

外文原文： VLSI Technology One of the key inventions in the history of electronics，and in fact one of the most important inventions ever period，was the transistor．It was invented by Bell Laboratories in 1948．In short，a transistor is a device that conducts a variable amount of electricity through it，depending on how much electricity is input to it．In other words，it is a digital switch．However，unlike the vacuum tube，it is solid state．This means that it doesn’t change its physical form as it switches．There are no moving parts in a transistor． The advantages of the transistor over the vacuum tube were enormous．Compared to the old technology，transistors were much smaller， faster， and cheaper to manufacture．They were also far more reliable and used much 1ess power．The transistor is what started the evolution of the modern computer industry in motion． The transistor was originally a single，discrete device，which you could p1ace individually into a circuit much like any other．Today，some special-purpose transistors are still used that way．What allowed the creation of modern processors was the invention of the integrated circuit，which is a group of transistors manufactured from a single piece of material and connected together internally，without extra wiring．Integrated circuits are also called ICs or chips． A special material is used to make these integrated circuits．While most materials either insulate from electrical flow (air，glass，wood) or conduct electricity readily(metals,water)，there are some that only conduct electricity a small amount。or only under certain conditions．These are called semiconductors．The most commonly used semiconductor is of course silicon． By careful chemical composition and arrangement，it is possible to create a very small transistor directly on a layer of silicon，using various technologies to manipulate the material into the correct form．These transistors are small，fast and reliable,and use relatively little power．The first integrated circuit was inven