A surge for solid state: Revitalization of the U.S. semiconductor industry may depend on supplying unconnected transistors and letting the buyer specify on-chip interconnections

The loss of leadership in the 256K RAM market to Japan is merely a symptom of the revolutionary upheaval in the U.S. semiconductor industry. Can the industry be rejuvenated? Ironically its greatest hope lies in a return to its roots: supplying unconnected transistors on integrated circuits so that users and algorithm designers can specify the on-chip connections according to the needs of the applications.