Approaches to electronic miniaturization

Abstract

Over the past few years, dramatic progress has been made in miniaturizing electronics products. This has been driven by many forces, the chief of which have been increasing integration at the integrated-circuit chip level and competitiveness in the consumer marketplace. This paper examines elements that lead to effective miniaturization, including components, materials, and manufacturing processes. Specific examples are presented, including the "smart card," wireless headsets, and the PCMCIA modem.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>