The pervasive microprocessor: Trends and prospects: The progressive EE cannot afford to overlook new microprocessor technologies and applications. The author, an expert, tells why

As microprocessors diffuse into a myriad of applications in factories and offices, and in the automobiles and homes of ordinary citizens, semiconductors and the related industries that spawned these processors-on-a-chip have been undergoing profound changes. Requirements for the great circuit complexity called for in microcomputer-system elements — processors, memories, and input-output circuits — have been met by a flowering of semiconductor technologies, among which the metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) is outdistancing all competitors. These technologies are expected to offer a million devices per chip by the early 1980s, a complexity level that challenges the imagination of system designers.