1.2 Shape the World with Mixed-Signal Integrated Circuits - Past, Present, and Future

The last 50 years has been an era where analog equipment has been replaced by digital devices. LP records have been replaced by Compact Discs, NTSC and PAL TV systems have been replaced by digital TVs, VHS video recorders have been replaced by DVD recorders, film cameras have been replaced by digital cameras, and analog wireless communications have been replaced by digital wireless communications. Magnetic recording, optical recording, and signal processing circuitry for wired and wireless networks were replaced from analog to digital. The digitization of these devices and systems was due to the technological shift from bipolar to CMOS and the development of logic and memory circuits supported by scaling laws, but analog-digital mixed integrated circuit technology such as ADCs and DACs was indispensable. Therefore, this talk looks back on the digitization of equipment and the mixed signal integrated circuit technology that contributed to it and discuss future developments.