Drawing on digital
Digital design may be pushing the ‘bleeding edge’ of silicon technology, but analogue designs are not far behind. By Graham Pitcher.
Over the years, the electronics industry has been accustomed to devices such as drams and microprocessors pushing the limits of silicon technology. In particular, the demands of the consumer electronics sector have required device developers and manufacturers to ‘push the envelope’.
But the analogue world doesn’t seem to have pushed ahead quite as rapidly. There are reasons for this, including hitting production ‘sweet spots’ and the difficulties of analogue technology following digital down the process shrink route. However, a recent process development by Texas Instruments may be about to change this.
