Technology revolutions mark their origin from a single breakthrough such as the demonstration of the transistor. Subsequent technological advances make the revolution a reality. The historical evolution from Si transistor to integrated circuits to high speed computers and telecommunications is one excellent example.

Active workers in the field know each advance represents a major expenditure of time and effort (really ‘blood and sweat’). Progress comes about in a competitive atmosphere involving creative ideas, personality forces and technology prognostications.

We are presently in the midst of the microelectronics revolution. Insatiable demands exist for greater data rates, for consumer electronics and for superior telecommunications. We envision a world of wireless communications, video transmissions and displays, and numerous applications of high speed data transmission. Satisfying this demand is the goal of current research.

For our field of microelectronics this means a systems analysis from the final product to the atomic configurations of the materials that make the product. This analysis itself is remarkable; we can precisely relate the macroscopic system properties – how fast will the system operate – to the microscopic atomic structure – where do the atoms sit in the solid.

Analysis of today's devices reveal the limitations of today's semiconductors – mostly silicon. Silicon has been the workhorse for the last thirty years. The ‘silicon community’ continues to squeeze all that is obtainable from this most robust and manufacturable semiconductor.