Alexandria University

Electronics: Now and Then

Dr. Mohamed M. Zakaria Moustafa

Department of Electrical Engineering

Faculty of Engineering
Alexandria University

Electronics: Now and Then

 Alexandria University

Magazine Punch in London on 25th

June 1881

It shows King Steam and King Coal

discussing Baby Electricity’s chances of
success in life. Baby electricity is
obtaining nourishment from the feeding
bottle marked “storage of force”.

Electronics: Now and Then

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History of Electronics
• The identification of the electron in 1897, along with the
subsequent invention of the vacuum tube which could
amplify and rectify small electrical signals, inaugurated the
field of electronics and the electron age.
• Practical applications started with the invention of the diode
or Fleming Valve by Ambrose Fleming in the early 1900s. It
was a vacuum tube that allows to conduct the current in one
direction and block the current flowing in the opposite
direction. It also facilitates the detection of small electrical
voltages such as radio signals from a radio antenna possible
with a non-mechanical device.

Fleming
Valve

Electronics: Now and Then

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History of Electronics (Cont.)

• In 1946, the University of Pennsylvania in the US built a
Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC)
using the vacuum tubes.

• ENIAC was the first programmable, electronic, general-

purpose digital computer. The computer was so large that its
vacuum tubes occupied the entire building, and it consumed a
huge amount of electricity and produced a lot of heat. It
weighed more than 30 tons.

• it was in continuous operation until 1955, where it stopped

because due to the large amount of heat and power
consumption.
Electronics: Now and Then
 Alexandria University

Electronics: Now and Then

 Alexandria University

History of Electronics (Cont.)

• Decades later, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain at Bell
Laboratories in the US invented the point-contact transistor in
1947, and William Shockley invented the junction transistor in
1948. This heralded the arrival of the transistor era.
• In 1956, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded jointly to
Shockley, Bardeen and Brattain for their contribution to
semiconductor research and the development of the transistor.

First
Transistor

Electronics: Now and Then

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From the left: John Bardeen, William Shockley and Walter Brattain at Bell Labs, 1948

Electronics: Now and Then

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History of Electronics (Cont.)

• The semiconductor industry grew rapidly following the
invention of the transistor. In 1957, it already exceeded the
scale of 100 million dollars.
• In 1959, the bipolar integrated circuit (ICs) was invented
by Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments and Robert Noyce of
Fairchild Semiconductor in the US. This invention had a major
impact on the history of semiconductors, and it marked the
dawn of the IC era. Being small in size and light in weight,
the IC was widely used in a variety of electric appliances.

First Integrated
Circuit

Electronics: Now and Then

 Alexandria University

History of Electronics (Cont.)

• In 1967, Texas Instruments developed the electronic
desktop calculator (the calculator) using IC.
• In Japan, electronic equipment manufacturers released
calculators one after another, and fierce “calculator wars”
continued until the end of the 1970s.

First Calculator
using IC

Electronics: Now and Then

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History of Electronics (Cont.)

• IC integration advanced even further, and the large-scale
integrated circuit (LSI) was developed. The technologies
continue to advance.
• The VLSI (from 100 thousand to 10 million electronic
components per chip) was developed in the 1980s, and the
ULSI (more than 10 million electronic components per chip)
was developed in the 1990s.
• In the 2000s, the System LSI (a multifunction LSI with
multiple functions integrated in a single chip) was put into full-
scale production.
• As IC progresses toward high
performance and multiple functions, its
field of application is expanding
broadly. Semiconductors are now used
in every corner of our society and
support everyday life.
Electronics: Now and Then
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Advances in Electronic Components per Chip

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Semiconductor Devices

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Integrated Circuits
• An integrated circuit (ICs) is an electronic device comprising
numerous functional elements such as transistors, resistors,
condensers, etc. on a piece of silicon semiconductor substrate,
and is sealed inside a package with multiple terminals.
• At present, IC critical dimensions (or smallest dimensions of IC
elements) are in the order of 10 nanometres (nm: 10-9m),
which is extremely small.

Electronics: Now and Then

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Power Devices
• While semiconductors like the CPU and the LSI are used for
computing and memory, power devices are used for electricity
control and conversion;
• Power devices are semiconductors that can operate under
large current and high voltage, in contrast to ICs;
• The power devices are the backbone of the Power
Electronics or Industrial Electronics field.
• Range of power scale: milliwatts(mW) → Watts(W) →
Kilowatts(kW) → megawatts(MW) → gigawatts(GW)
• Applications: Electric cars, fuel cells, solar cells, wind power
generation and HVDC.

Electronics: Now and Then

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Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS)

• MEMS are ultra-compact systems composed of micro-
mechanical components such as sensors, actuators and
electronic circuits on a silicon wafer using the microfabrication
technology of the LSI;

• Applications of MEMS devices: accelerometers for airbag

sensors, microphones, projection display chips, blood sugar
test equipments and tire pressure sensors.

Electronics: Now and Then

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Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS)

Electronics: Now and Then

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In the future…
• Industrial Electronics and MEMS sensors will be involved
in all aspects of life. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of
Things (IoT) will interfere in all industries with an aim of a
lower power consumption. That will help in realizing safe,
secure and smart society.

Electronics: Now and Then