History of electronic engineering

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

This article details the history of electronics engineering. Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary (1972) defines electronics as "The science and technology of the conduction of electricity in a vacuum, a gas, or a semiconductor, and devices based thereon".[1]

radio engineering. The word electronics began to be used in the 1940s[4]
In the late 1950s, the term electronics engineering started to emerge.

Electronic laboratories (Bell Labs, for instance) created and subsidized by large corporations in the industries of radio, television, and telephone equipment, began churning out a series of electronic advances. The electronics industry was revolutionized by the inventions of the first transistor in 1948, the integrated circuit chip in 1959,[5][6] and the silicon MOSFET (metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor) in 1959.[7][8] In the UK, the subject of electronics engineering became distinct from electrical engineering as a university-degree subject around 1960. (Before this time, students of electronics and related subjects like radio and telecommunications had to enroll in the electrical engineering department of the university as no university had departments of electronics. Electrical engineering was the nearest subject with which electronics engineering could be aligned, although the similarities in subjects covered (except mathematics and electromagnetism) lasted only for the first year of three-year courses.)

Electronics engineering (even before it acquired the name) facilitated the development of many technologies including wireless telegraphy, radio, television, radar, computers, and microprocessors.

Wireless telegraphy and radio

Main article: History of radio

Some of the devices which would enable

Ferdinand Braun. In 1896, Guglielmo Marconi went on to develop the first practical and widely used radio wave based communication system.[11][12]

GHz in his experiments.[13] He also introduced the use of semiconductor junctions to detect radio waves,[14] when he patented the radio crystal detector in 1901.[15][16]

In 1904,

receivers as well as systems for long distance telephone calls
.

The invention of the triode amplifier, generator, and detector made audio communication by radio practical. (

Edwin H. Armstrong invented the regenerative feedback amplifier and oscillator; he also invented the superheterodyne radio receiver and could be considered the father of modern radio.[17]

The first known radio news program was broadcast 31 August 1920 by station 8MK, the unlicensed predecessor of WWJ (AM) in Detroit, Michigan. Regular wireless broadcasts for entertainment commenced in 1922 from the Marconi Research Centre at Writtle near Chelmsford, England. The station was known as 2MT and was followed by 2LO broadcasting from Strand, London.

While some early radios used some type of amplification through electric current or battery, through the mid-1920s the most common type of receiver was the

crystal set
. In the 1920s, amplifying vacuum tubes revolutionized both radio receivers and transmitters.

Vacuum tubes remained the preferred amplifying device for 40 years, until researchers working for

voltages
than vacuum tubes to work.

Before the invention of the integrated circuit in 1959, electronic circuits were constructed from discrete components that could be manipulated by hand. These non-integrated circuits consumed much space and power, were prone to failure and were limited in speed although they are still common in simple applications. By contrast, integrated circuits packed a large number — often millions — of tiny electrical components, mainly transistors, into a small chip around the size of a coin.[18]

Television

Main article: History of television

In 1927, Philo Farnsworth made the first public demonstration of a purely electronic television.[19] During the 1930s, several countries began broadcasting, and after World War II it spread to millions of receivers, eventually worldwide. Ever since then, electronics have been fully present in television devices.

Modern televisions and video displays have evolved from bulky electron tube technology to use more compact devices, such as

organic light-emitting diode displays, and it is most likely to replace the LCD and plasma technologies.[20]

Radar and radio location

Main article: History of radar

During World War II, many efforts were expended in the electronic location of enemy targets and aircraft. These included radio beam guidance of bombers, electronic counter measures, early radar systems, etc. During this time, very little if any effort was expended on consumer electronics developments.[21]

Transistors and integrated circuits

See also: History of the transistor, Invention of the integrated circuit, and MOSFET
Walter Brattain invented the first working transistor
(1947)

The first working

mass-production basis,[24] they opened the door for more compact devices.[25]

surface passivation process (1957) and invented the MOSFET
transistor (1959)
monolithic integrated circuit
chip (1959)

The first integrated circuits were the hybrid integrated circuit invented by Jack Kilby at Texas Instruments in 1958, and the monolithic integrated circuit chip invented by Robert Noyce at Fairchild Semiconductor in 1959.[26]


The

Mohamed Atalla and Dawon Kahng at BTL in 1959.[27][28][29] It was the first truly compact transistor that could be miniaturised and mass-produced for a wide range of uses.[24] It revolutionized the electronics industry,[7][8] becoming the most widely used electronic device in the world.[28][30][31] The MOSFET is the basic element in most modern electronic equipment.[32][33]

The MOSFET made it possible to build

MOSFET scaling miniaturization at an exponential pace (as predicted by Moore's law), has led to revolutionary changes in technology, economy, culture, and thinking.[37]

Computers

Main articles: History of computing and History of computing hardware

A computer is a programmable machine that receives input, stores and manipulates data, and provides output in a useful format.

Although mechanical examples of computers have existed through much of recorded human history, the first electronic computers were developed in the mid-20th century (1940–1945). These were the size of a large room, consuming as much power as several hundred modern personal computers (PCs). Modern computers based on

MP3 players
to fighter aircraft and from toys to industrial robots are the most numerous.

The ability to store and execute lists of instructions called programs makes computers extremely versatile, distinguishing them from calculators. The Church–Turing thesis is a mathematical statement of this versatility: any computer with a certain minimum capability is, in principle, capable of performing the same tasks that any other computer can perform. Therefore, computers ranging from a netbook to a supercomputer are all able to perform the same computational tasks, given enough time and storage capacity.

Microprocessors

Main articles:
MOS integrated circuit
Federico Faggin designed Intel 4004, first commercially available microprocessor

By 1964, MOS chips had reached higher

computer processor could be contained on a single MOS LSI chip.[38]

The first multi-chip microprocessors, the

Stan Mazor, and Busicom engineer Masatoshi Shima.[39] This ignited the development of the personal computer. In 1973, the Intel 8080, an 8-bit processor, made possible the building of the first personal computer, the MITS Altair 8800. The first PC was announced to the general public on the cover of the January 1975 issue of Popular Electronics
.

Many electronics engineers today specialize in the development and programming of microprocessor-based electronic systems, known as

embedded systems engineers" or "firmware
engineers".

See also

References

  1. ISBN 055010206X
  2. ^ Lauer, Henri; Brown, Harry Leonard (1919). Radio Engineering Principles. McGraw-Hill. Retrieved 2012-03-14. radio engineering.
  3. ISBN 978-0195004748
  4. ^ Department of Defense appropriations for ... - United States. Congress. House. Committee on Appropriations - Google Books. 1949. Retrieved 2012-03-14.
  5. ^ Daniel Todd The World Electronics Industry, p. 55, Taylor & Francis, 1990
    ISBN 978-0415024976
  6. ISBN 9780963265401
    . Retrieved 2012-03-14. IC integrated circuit.
  7. ^ a b Chan, Yi-Jen (1992). Studies of InAIAs/InGaAs and GaInP/GaAs heterostructure FET's for high speed applications. University of Michigan. p. 1. The Si MOSFET has revolutionized the electronics industry and as a result impacts our daily lives in almost every conceivable way.
  8. ^
    ISBN 9780471828679
    . The metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) is the most commonly used active device in the very large-scale integration of digital integrated circuits (VLSI). During the 1970s these components revolutionized electronic signal processing, control systems and computers.
  9. ^ Prof. D. E. Hughes' Research in Wireless Telegraphy, The Electrician, Volume 43, 1899, pages 35, 40-41, 93, 143-144, 167, 217, 401, 403, 767
  10. ^ Massie, W. W., & Underhill, C. R. (1911). Wireless telegraphy and telephony popularly explained. New York: D. Van Nostrand
  11. ISBN 978-0618221233
  12. ^ Wireless TelegraphyProceedings of the Institute of Radio Engineers pp. 101-5
  13. List of IEEE milestones. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
    . Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  14. S2CID 9039614. {{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help) reprinted in Igor Grigorov, Ed., Antentop
    , Vol. 2, No.3, pp. 87–96.
  15. ^ "Timeline". The Silicon Engine. Computer History Museum. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  16. ^ "1901: Semiconductor Rectifiers Patented as "Cat's Whisker" Detectors". The Silicon Engine. Computer History Museum. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  17. ISBN 978-0387951508
  18. ISBN 978-0072283655
  19. ^ "Philo Taylor Farnsworth (1906-1971)". The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco. Archived from the original on 2011-06-22. Retrieved 2010-12-20.
  20. ISBN 978-0387953434
  21. ISBN 978-0029331538
  22. ^ "1947: Invention of the Point-Contact Transistor". Computer History Museum. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  23. ^ "1948: Conception of the Junction Transistor". The Silicon Engine. Computer History Museum. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
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  25. ^ "Electronics Timeline". Greatest Engineering Achievements of the Twentieth Century. Retrieved 18 January 2006.
  26. ISBN 9789812814456
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  27. ^ "1960 - Metal Oxide Semiconductor (MOS) Transistor Demonstrated". The Silicon Engine. Computer History Museum.
  28. ^ a b c "Who Invented the Transistor?". Computer History Museum. 4 December 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  29. ^ "Triumph of the MOS Transistor". YouTube. Computer History Museum. 6 August 2010. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  30. ISBN 9781420006728
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  31. ^ "13 Sextillion & Counting: The Long & Winding Road to the Most Frequently Manufactured Human Artifact in History". Computer History Museum. April 2, 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  32. ^ Daniels, Lee A. (28 May 1992). "Dr. Dawon Kahng, 61, Inventor In Field of Solid-State Electronics". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  33. ISBN 9781107052406
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  34. ^ "Tortoise of Transistors Wins the Race - CHM Revolution". Computer History Museum. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  35. ISBN 9789400776630
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  36. ^ "1968: Silicon Gate Technology Developed for ICs". Computer History Museum. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  37. ISBN 9783540416821
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  38. S2CID 32003640
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  39. ^ a b "1971: Microprocessor Integrates CPU Function onto a Single Chip". The Silicon Engine. Computer History Museum. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  40. ^ "Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Undergraduate Programs" (PDF). UMBC. Retrieved 2015-12-04.
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