Homework #1
COE 3002
“Introduction to the Microelectronics and
Nanotechnology Revolution”
Dr. John D. Cressler
Due Date: Thursday, September 4
[1]
Sit down, with no (serious) distractions, and carefully read the preface, Chapter 1
(pp. 1-28), and Chapter 2 (pp. 29-48) of Silicon Earth. Then fill out the following
and sign it.
I, ____________________________, the undersigned, do hereby attest, that the
foresworn has carefully read Chapter 1 (pp. 1-28) and Chapter 2 (pp. 29-48) of
Cressler’s Silicon Earth and am now ready for meaningful discussion of said
material.
_____________________________
Signature
[2]
____________
Date
a) Develop a list of five physical objects (pieces of technology) that did not exist
before the development of semiconductor technology, and could not exist
without it. The more unusual the object the better!
b) Develop a list of five physical objects (pieces of technology) that existed prior
to the development of semiconductor technology, but which cannot be purchased
today without semiconductor components in it. The more unusual the object the
better!
[3]
a) Rewrite the following hypothetical IP address in binary.
147.115.1.5
b) rewrite the following binary IP address in base 10
10110011 01111000 00000011 00001001
[4]
Consider the following Moore’s law growth pattern (since 1980) for the number of
transistors inside a particular commercial microprocessor:
N = 1920 x 100.1637(Y – 1980)
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where Y is the year and N is the number of transistors. Assuming sustained
Moore’s law growth, what will be the number of transistors in a microprocessor in
the year 2025? You must show your work.
[5]
Using the equation from [4], how many years will it take for the transistor count in
a microprocessor to increase by 100x. You must show your work.
[6]
a) Using the data from Overhead 1G, construct a Moore’s law mathematical
expression for the average transistor cost (in cents) as a function of year. You
must show your work.
b) Using this expression, estimate the cost of a transistor in 2025. You must
show your work.
[7]
Assume that the filament of a tiny vacuum tube amplifier burns about 3.5 W of
electrical power. Let’s assume that no transistors exist, and that 100 million of
these tubes can instead be used to build the equivalent of a 256 Mb memory.
You must show your work.
a) How much power will the tube-based memory burn (in Watts)?
b) Assuming it is powered from a 110 V source, how much current will it draw (in
Amps)?
c) Assuming we want to run this tube-memory for 24 hours, what would the
power bill be? (you may assume present Georgia Power residential rates (in
$/kW-hour))
[8]
The current world switching speed record for a logic gate inside a microprocessor
is 2.5 picoseconds (2.5x10-12) for switching from a logical high (“1") to a logical
low (“0"). How far would light travel (in vacuum) during the same elapsed
switching time (in mm)? You must show your work.
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