Technology in the Internet age

Internet electronic products have requirements different from those of personal computers (PCs). The increasing importance of Internet electronics is driving changes in development of IC technology. One important characteristic of the Internet Age is computational disaggregation. Whereas, over the past 20 years, PCs have been characterized by ever-increasing computation capabilities, emerging Internet electronic products are characterized by sufficient computation to achieve the function in a small, often portable, form factor. The imperative for lower cost, which enables penetration into mass markets, is a second area where Internet electronic products differ from PCs. Disaggregation and cost requirements are driving an unprecedented degree of system-on-a-chip (SoC) integration. In the Internet Age, SoC integration means more than integrating different digital cores. It also means integrating functions that are realized today in different technologies: logic, memory, analog, power management, passives and radio or wireline driver, depending on the product. Because SoC integration is motivated primarily by cost, diverse functions must be integrated together in standard CMOS with minimal cost addition. Cost-effective embedded memory technology also needs to be developed. Current examples of SoC integration include cell phones, cable/DSL modems, and Internet audio. These representative examples, together with others, are driving changes in the way ICs are developed. In the latter half of the decade, it is likely that SoC integration will expand to include MEMS, microphotonics, and on-chip energy sources. Moore's Law scaling will continue at least through the end of this decade, but SoC integration will become an increasingly important technology imperative for continued cost reduction throughout the Internet Age.