Chapter 8 - VLSI, A Major New Tool for Productivity Improvement

Abstract

This chapter focuses on VLSI, which is a major new tool for productivity improvement. A principal concern at the present time for all who bear responsibility for economic welfare in the United States is the sharp decrease in productivity improvement. Indeed, many couple this sharp decrease in the ability to improve productivity, impending energy shortages, and sharply increased energy costs as inevitably destroying the long-established ability to improve steadily the standard of living enjoyed by the citizens of this country. These views, however, may well be unduly pessimistic. The invention of the transistor, leading directly to the subsequent invention of the integrated circuit and the development of VLSI, has not just revolutionized electronics but has created a potential for new tools whose long-term impact on the way people live and work is likely to be enormous. The new electronics could introduce a technological step function in improving productivity, the correlations established are admittedly speculative and the conclusions drawn simplistic.