INTEGRATED CIRCUIT of production units the individual IC cost is minimized.

The
performance of ICs is high because the small size allows
In electronics, an integrated short traces which in turn allows low power logic (such as
circuit (also known as IC, CMOS) to be used at fast switching speeds.
microcircuit, microchip, silicon
chip, or chip) is a miniaturized ICs have consistently migrated to smaller feature sizes
electronic circuit (consisting mainly of semiconductor over the years, allowing more circuitry to be packed on
devices, as well as passive components) that has been each chip. This increased capa
capacity
city per unit area can be
manufactured in the surface of a thin substrate of used to decrease cost and/or increase functionality—see
functionality
semiconductor material. Integrated circuits are used in Moore's law which, in its modern interpretation, states
almost all electronic equipment in use today and have that the number of transistors in an integrated circuit
revolutionized the world of electronics. Computers, doubles every two years. In general, as the feature size
cellular phones, and other digital appliances
applianc are now shrinks,
ks, almost everything improves
improves—the the cost per unit
inextricable parts of the structure of modern societies, and the switching power consumption go down, and the
made possible by the low cost of production of integrated speed goes up. However, ICs with nanometer
nanometer-scale
scale devices
circuits. are not without their problems, principal among which is
leakage current (see subthreshold leakag
leakagee for a discussion
A hybrid integrated circuit is a miniaturized electronic of this), although these problems are not insurmountable
circuit constructed of individual semiconductor devices, as and will likely be solved or at least ameliorated by the
welll as passive components, bonded to a substrate or introduction of high
high-k
k dielectrics. Since these speed and
circuit board. A monolithic integrated circuit is made of power consumption gains are apparent to the end user,
devices manufactured by diffusion of trace elements into a there is fi
fierce
erce competition among the manufacturers to
single piece of semiconductor substrate, a chip. use finer geometries. This process, and the expected
progress over the next few years, is well described by the
Introduction
International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors
Integrated circuits were madeade possible by experimental (ITRS).
discoveries which showed that semiconductor devices
Classification
could perform the functions of vacuum tubes and by mid-mid
20th-century
century technology advancements in semiconductor Integrated circuits can b
be
e classified into analog, digital and
device fabrication. The integration of large numbers of tiny mixed signal (both analog and digital on the same chip).
transistors
istors into a small chip was an enormous
improvement over the manual assembly of circuits using Digital integrated circuits can contain anything from one to
electronic components. The integrated circuit's mass millions of logic gates, flip
flip-flops,
flops, multiplexers, and other
production capability, reliability, and building-block
building circuits in a few square millimeters. TThe
he small size of these
approach to circuit design ensured the rapid adoption
adoptio of circuits allows high speed, low power dissipation, and
standardized ICs in place of designs using discrete reduced manufacturing cost compared with board-level
board
transistors. integration. These digital ICs, typically microprocessors,
DSPs, and micro
There are two main advantages of ICs over discrete controllers work using
circuits: cost and performance. Cost is low because the binary mathematics to
chips, with all their components, are printed as a unit by process
ss "one" and
photolithography and not constructed as one transistor at "zero" signals.
a time. Furthermore, much less material is used to
construct a circuit as a packaged IC die than as a discrete Analog ICs, such as
circuit. Performance is high since the components switch sensors, power
quickly and consume little power (compared to their thei management circuits,
discrete counterparts) because the components are small and operational amplifiers, work by processing continuous
and close together. As of 2006, chip areas range from a few signals. They perform functions like amplification, active
square millimeters to around 350 mm2, with up to 1 filtering, demodulation, mixing, etc. Analog ICs ease the
million transistors per mm2. burden on circuit designers by having expertly designed
analog circuits available instead of designing a difficult
Advances in integrated circuits analog circuit from scratch.
Among the most advanced ICs can also combine analog and digital circuits on a single
integrated circuits are the chip to create functions such as A/D converters and D/A
microprocessors or "cores", converters. Such circuits offer smaller size and lower cost,
which control everything but must carefully account for signal interference.
from computers to cellular
phones to digital
Information derived from
microwave ovens. Digital
memory chips and ASICs
are examples of other families of integrated circuits that
are important to the modern ern information society. While
the cost of designing and developing a complex integrated
circuit is quite high, when spread across typically millions
OPTICAL FIBER vapor deposition,
outside vapor
An optical fiber is a thin, deposition, and vapor
flexible, transparent fiber that axial deposition.
acts as a waveguide, or "light
pipe", to transmit light With inside vapor
between the two ends of the deposition, the preform
fiber. Optical fibers are widely starts as a hollow glass
used in fiber-optic tube approximately 40
communications, which centimeters (16 in)
permits transmission over long, which is placed
longer distances and at higher horizontally and rotated
bandwidths (data rates) than slowly on a lathe. Gases
other forms of communication. such as silicon tetrachloride (SiCl4) or germanium
Fiberss are used instead of metal wires because signals tetrachloride
achloride (GeCl4) are injected with oxygen in the end of
travel along them with less loss and are also immune to the tube. The gases are then heated by means of an
electromagnetic interference. Fibers are also used for external hydrogen burner, bringing the temperature of the
illumination, and are wrapped in bundles so they can be gas up to 1900 K (1600 °C, 3000 °F), where the
used to carry images, thus allowing viewing
vie in tight spaces. tetrachlorides react with oxygen to produce silica or
Specially designed fibers are used for a variety of other germania (germanium dioxide) particles. When the
applications, including sensors and fiber lasers. reaction conditions are chosen to allow this reaction to
occur in the gas phase throughout the tube volume, in
Optical fiber typically consists of a transparent core contrast to earlier techniques where the reaction occurred
surrounded by a transparent cladding material with a only on the glass surface, this technique is called modified
lower index of refraction.
raction. Light is kept in the core by total chemical vapor deposition.
internal reflection. This causes the fiber to act as a
waveguide. Fibers which support many propagation paths The oxide particles then agglomerate to form large particle
or transverse modes are called multi-mode
multi fibers (MMF), chains, which subsequently deposit on the walls of the
while those which can only support a single mode mo are tube as soot. The deposition is due to the large difference
called single-mode
mode fibers (SMF). Multi-mode
Multi fibers in temperature betw
between
een the gas core and the wall causing
generally have a larger core diameter, and are used for the gas to push the particles outwards (this is known as
short-distance
distance communication links and for applications thermophoresis). The torch is then traversed up and down
where high power must be transmitted. Single-mode
Single fibers the length of the tube to deposit the material evenly. After
are used for most communication on links longer than 1,050 the torch has reached the end of the tube, it is then brought
meters (3,440 ft). back to the beginning of the tube and the deposited
particles are then melted to form a solid layer. This
Joining lengths of optical fiber is more complex than process is repeated until a sufficient amount of material
joining electrical wire or cable. The ends of the fibers must has been deposited. For each layer the composition can be
be carefully cleaved, and then spliced together either modified by varvarying
ying the gas composition, resulting in
mechanically or by fusing them together with an electric precise control of the finished fiber's optical properties.
arc. Special connectors are used to make removable
connections. In outside vapor deposition or vapor axial deposition, the
glass is formed by flame hydrolysis, a reaction in which
Manufacturing silicon tetrachloride and germanium tetra tetrachloride
chloride are
oxidized by reaction with water (H2O) in an oxyhydrogen
Glass optical fibers are almost always made from silica, but
flame. In outside vapor deposition the glass is deposited
some other materials, such as fluorozirconate,
onto a solid rod, which is removed before further
fluoroaluminate, and chalcogenide glasses as well as a
processing. In vapor axial deposition, a short seed rod is
crystalline materials like sapphire, are used for longer-
longer
used, and a porous ppreform,
reform, whose length is not limited by
wavelength infrared or other specialized applications.
the size of the source rod, is built up on its end. The porous
Silica and fluoride glasses usually have refractive indices of
preform is consolidated into a transparent, solid preform
about 1.5, but some materials such as the chalcogenides
by heating to about 1800 K (1500 °C, 2800 °F).
can have indices as highh as 3. Typically the index difference
between core and cladding is less than one percent. The preform, however constructed, is then placed in a
device known as a drawing tower, where the preform tip is
Plastic optical fibers (POF) are commonly step-index
step
heated and the optic fiber is pulled out as a string. By
multi-mode
mode fibers with a core diameter of 0.5 millimeters
measuring the resultant fiber width, the tension on the
or larger. POF typically have higher attenuation
fiber can be controlled to maintain the fiber thickness.
coefficients than glass fibers, 1 dB/m or higher, and this
high attenuation limits the range of POF-based
POF systems. Information derived from

Standard optical fibers are made by first constructing a

large-diameter preform,, with a carefully controlled
refractive index profile, and then pulling the preform to
form the long, thin optical fiber. The preform is commonly
made by three chemical vapor deposition methods: inside
HOLOGRAM

Holograms are 3-D images

that have been projected
and captured on a 2-D
surface. If you want to see
a hologram, you don't have
to look much ch farther than your wallet. There
Th are
holograms on most driver's licenses, ID cards and credit
cards. If you're not old enough to drive or use credit, you
can still find holograms around your home. They're part of
CD, DVD and software packaging, as well as just about
everything sold as "official merchandise."

Unfortunately, these holograms -- which exist to make

forgery more difficult -- aren't very impressive. You can
see changes in colors and shapes when you move them
back and forth, but they usually just look like sparkly
pictures or smears of color. Even the mass-produced
mass
holograms that feature movie and d comic book heroes can
look more like green photographs than amazing 3-D 3
images.

On the other hand, large-scale

scale holograms, illuminated with Holographic film: Holographic film can record light at a
lasers or displayed in a darkened room with carefully very high resolution, which is necessary for creating a
directed lighting, are incredible. They're two-dimensional
two hologram. It's a layer of light
light-sensitive
sensitive compounds on a
surfaces
rfaces that show absolutely precise, three-dimensional
three transparent su
surface,
rface, like photographic film. The difference
images of real objects. You don't even have to wear special between holographic and photographic film is that
glasses or look through a View-Master
Master to see the images in holographic film has to be able to record very small
3-D. changes in light that take place over microscopic distances.
In other words, it needs to have a very fine ggrain.
rain. In some
If you look at these holograms from different angles, you cases, holograms that use a red laser rely on emulsions
see objects from different
fferent perspectives, just like you would that respond most strongly to red light.
if you were looking at a real object. Some holograms even
appear to move as you walk past them and look at them Reflection Hologram
from different angles. Others change colors or include
The holograms you can buy as novelties or see on your
views of completely different objects, depending
dependin on how
driver's license are reflection holograms. These are usually
you look at them.
mass-produced
produced using a stamping method. When you
Making a Hologram develop a holographic emulsion, the surface of the
emulsion collapses as the silver halide grgrains
ains are reduced
It doesn't take very many tools to make a hologram. You to pure silver.
can make one with: This changes the
texture of the
A laser:: Red lasers, usually helium-neon
helium (HeNe) lasers, are
emulsion's
common in holography. Some home holography
surface. One
experiments rely on the diodes fromrom red laser pointers, but
method of mass
mass-
the light from a laser pointer tends to be less coherent and
producing
less stable, which can make it hard to get a good image.
holograms is
Some types of holograms use lasers that produce different
coating this
colors of light as well. Depending on the type of laser la
surface in metal to strengthen it, then using it to stamp the
you're using, you may also need a shutter to control the
interference pattern into metallic foil. A lot of the time, you
exposure.
can view these holograms in normal white light. You can
Lenses: Holography is often referred to as "lensless also mass
mass-produce
produce holograms by printing them from a
photography," but holography does require lenses. master hologram, similar to the way you can create lots of
However, a camera's lens focuses light, while the lenses photographic prints from the same negative.
used in holography cause the beam to spread out. Information derived from

A beam splitter: This is a device that uses mirrors and

prisms to split one beam of light into two beams.

Mirrors: These direct the beams of light to the correct

locations. Along with the lenses and beam splitter, the
mirrors have too be absolutely clean. Dirt and smudges can
degrade the final image.
INFRARED DETECTOR
An infrared detector is a photodetector that reacts to
infrared (IR) radiation. The two main types of detectors
are thermal and photonic.
The thermal effects of the incident IR radiation can be
followed through many temperature dependent
phenomena. Bolometers and microbolometers are based
on changes in resistance. Thermocouples and thermopiles
use the thermoelectric effect. Golay cells follow thermal
expansion. In IR spectrometers the pyroelectric detectors
are the most widespread.
The response
ponse time and sensitivity of photonic detectors
can be much higher, but usually these have to be cooled to
cut thermal noise. The materials in these are
semiconductors with narrow band gaps. Incident IR
photons can cause electronic excitations. In
photoconductive
nductive detectors, the resistivity of the detector
element is monitored. Photovoltaic detectors contain a p-n
p The 1970's witnessed a mushrooming of IR applications
junction on which photoelectric current appears upon
illumination.
A few detector materials and their types are given in the
succeeding table.
Spectral
Detector Type
range(μm)
Indium gallium
photodiode
arsenide(InGaAs)
Lead sulfide (PbS) photoconductive
Indium
photovoltaic
arsenide (InAs)
Indium
photodiode
antimonide (InSb)
Lithium
pyroelectric
tantalate (LiTaO3)
The range of pyroelectric detector is determined by the window materials used in their
construction.
Infrared history
Infrared detectors are in general used to detect, image, and
measure patterns of the thermal heat radiation which all
objects emit. Early devices consisted of single detector
elements that relied on a change in the temperature of the
detector. Early thermal detectors were thermocouples and
bolometers which are still used today. Thermal detectors
are generally sensitive to all infrared wavelengths
wavele and
operate at room temperature. Under these conditions, they
have relatively low sensitivity and slow response.
Photon detectors were developed to improve sensitivity
and response time. These detectors have been extensively
developed since the 1940's.s. Lead sulfide (PbS) was the
first practical IR detector. It is sensitive to infrared
wavelengths up to ~3 µm.
Beginning in the late 1940's and continuing into the
1950's, a wide variety of new materials were developed for
IR sensing. Lead selenide (PbSe),, lead telluride (PbTe), and
indium antimonide (InSb) extended the spectral range
beyond that of PbS, providing sensitivity in the 3-5 3 µm
medium wavelength (MWIR) atmospheric window.
The end of the 1950's saw the first introduction of
semiconductor alloys, in the chemical table group III-V,
III IV-
VI, and II
II-VI
VI material systems. These alloys allowed the
bandgap of the semiconductor, and hence its spectral
response, to be custom tailored for specific applications.
MCT (HgCdTe), a group II II-VI
VI material, has today become
the most widely used of the tunable bandgap materials.
As photolithography became available in the early 1960's
it was applied to make IR sensor arrays. Linear array
technology was first demonstrated in PbS, PbSe, and InSb
detectors. Photovoltaic (P (PV)
V) detector development began
with the availability of single crystal InSb material.
In the late 1960's and early 1970's, "first generation"
linear arrays of intrinsic MCT photoconductive detectors
were developed. These allowed LWIR forward looking
imaging radiometer (FLIR) systems to operate at 80K with
a single stage cryoengine, making them much more
compact, lighter, and significantly lower in power
consumption.
combined with the start of high volume production of first
generation sensor systems using linear arrays
At the same time, other significant detector technology
developments were taking place. Silicon technology
spawned novel platinum silicide (PtSi) detector devices
which have become standard commercial products for a
variety of MWIR high resolution applications.
0.7-2.6
The invention of charge coupled devices (CCDs) in the late
1-3.2
1960's made it possible to envision "second generation"
1-3.8 detector arrays coupled with on on-focal-plane
plane electronic
analog signal readouts which could multiplex the signal
1-5.5 from a very large array of detectors. Early assessment of
this concept showed that photovoltaic detectors such as
InSb, PtSi, and MCT detectors or high impedance
photoconductors such as PbSe, PbS, and extrinsic silicon
sil
detectors were promising candidates because they had
impedances suitable for interfacing with the FET input of
readout multiplexers. PC MCT was not suitable due to its
low impedance. Therefore, in the late 1970's through the
1980's, MCT technology effefforts
orts focused almost exclusively
on PV device development because of the need for low
power and high impedance for interfacing to readout input
circuits in large arrays. This effort has been paying off in
the 1990's with the birth of second generation IR detectors
de
which provide large 2D arrays in both linear formats.
These detectors use TDI for scanning systems; in staring
systems, they come in square and rectangular formats.
Monolithic extrinsic silicon detectors were demonstrated
first in the mid 1970's
1970's.. The monolithic extrinsic silicon
approach was subsequently set aside because the process
of integrated circuit fabrication degraded the detector
quality. Monolithic PtSi detectors, however, in which the
detector can be formed after the readout is processed,
process are
now widely available.
Information derived from
and
LASER
A laser is a device that controls the way that energized
atoms release photons. "Laser" is an acronym for light
amplification by stimulated emission of radiation, which
describes very succinctly how a laser works.
Although there are many types of lasers, all have certain
essential features. In a laser, the lasing medium is
“pumped” to get the atoms into an excited state. Typically,
very intense flashes of light or electrical discharges pump
the lasing medium and create a large collection of excited-
state atoms (atoms with higher-energy electrons). It is
necessary to have a large collection of atoms in the excited
state for the laser to work efficiently. In general, the atoms
are excited to a level that is two or three levels above the
ground state. This increases the degree of population
inversion. The population inversion is the number of
atoms in the excited state versus the number in ground
state.
Once the lasing medium is pumped, it contains a collection
of atoms with some electrons sitting in excited levels. The
excited electrons have energies greater than the more
relaxed electrons. Just as the electron absorbed some
amount of energy to reach this excited level, it can also
release this energy. As the figure below illustrates, the
electron can simply relax, and in turn rid itself of some
energy. This emitted energy comes in the form of photons
(light energy). The photon emitted has a very specific
wavelength (color) that depends on the state of the
electron's energy when the photon is released. Two
identical atoms with electrons in identical states will
release photons with identical wavelengths.
Types of Lasers
There are many different types of lasers. The laser medium
can be a solid, gas, liquid or semiconductor. Lasers are
commonly designated by the type of lasing material
employed:
Solid-state lasers have lasing material distributed in a
solid matrix (such as the ruby or neodymium:yttrium-
aluminum garnet "Yag" lasers). The neodymium-Yag laser
emits infrared light at 1,064 nanometers (nm). A
nanometer is 1x10-9 meters.
Gas lasers (helium and helium-neon, HeNe, are the most
common gas lasers) have a primary output of visible red
light. CO2 lasers emit energy in the far-infrared, and are
used for cutting hard materials.
Excimer lasers (the name is derived from the terms
excited and dimers) use reactive gases, such as chlorine
and fluorine, mixed with inert gases such as argon, krypton
or xenon. When electrically stimulated, a pseudo molecule
(dimer) is produced. When lased, the dimer produces light
in the ultraviolet range.
Dye lasers use complex organic dyes, such as rhodamine
6G, in liquid solution or suspension as lasing media. They
are tunable over a broad range of wavelengths.
Semiconductor lasers, sometimes called diode lasers,
are not solid-state lasers. These electronic devices are
generally very small and use low power. They may be built
into larger arrays, such as the writing source in some laser
printers or CD players.
Laser Light
Laser light is very different from normal light. Laser light
has the following properties:
• The light released is monochromatic. It contains one specific
wavelength of light (one specific color). The wavelength of
light is determined by the amount of energy released when
the electron drops to a lower orbit.
• The light released is coherent. It is “organized” -- each
photon moves in step with the others. This means that all of
the photons have wave fronts that launch in unison.
• The light is very directional. A laser light has a very tight
beam and is very strong and concentrated. A flashlight, on
the other hand, releases light in many directions, and the
light is very weak and diffuse.
To make these three properties occur takes something
called stimulated emission. This does not occur in your
ordinary flashlight -- in a flashlight, all of the atoms release
their photons randomly. In stimulated emission, photon
emission is organized.
Laser Classifications
Lasers are classified into four
broad areas depending on the
potential for causing biological
damage. When you see a laser, it
should be labeled with one of these
four class designations:
• Class I - These lasers cannot emit laser radiation at known hazard
levels.
• Class I.A. - This is a special designation that applies only to lasers
that are "not intended for viewing," such as a supermarket laser
scanner. The upper power limit of Class I.A. is 4.0 mW.
• Class II - These are low-power visible lasers that emit above Class I
levels but at a radiant power not above 1 mW. The concept is that
the human aversion reaction to bright light will protect a person.
• Class IIIA - These are intermediate-power lasers (cw: 1-5 mW),
which are hazardous only for intrabeam viewing. Most pen-like
pointing lasers are in this class.
• Class IIIB - These are moderate-power lasers.
• Class IV - These are high-power lasers (cw: 500 mW, pulsed: 10
J/cm2 or the diffuse reflection limit), which are hazardous to view
under any condition (directly or diffusely scattered), and are a
potential fire hazard and a skin hazard. Significant controls are
required of Class IV laser facilities.
Information derived from