Technology 1993-solid state

Notable developments during 1992 are discussed. Overall conductor growth rates moved down with the general market, but individual markets varied. US sales rose 15%, European sales were flat, and Japanese sales dropped approximately 10%. Striking advances were made in high-speed devices, while the trickle of low-voltage devices seen last year turned into a torrent, driven by the notebook/palmtop computer. IC packaging also responded to the push from the notebook and palmtop computer markets, and memory designers strove to meet the requirements for high-speed and/or low-voltage applications. In the analog and mixed-signal field, the big news was the movement of multimedia into the consumer market, with products reflecting a greater emphasis on video/audio decoders. A number of high-speed processors were introduced.<
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