2020 World with Chips

Abstract

Although we are well advised to look at the future 1 day at a time, we have seen in the chapters of this book, and they necessarily could cover only a selection on the features and applications of those tiny chips, that their potential continues to grow at the exceptional rates of the past. However, the new commitment has to be towards Sustainable Nanoelectronics, guided by creating sensing, computing, memory, and communication functions, which move just a few electrons per operation, each operation consuming energy less than one or a few femtojoule, less than any of the 10¹⁴ synapses in our brains. At these energy levels, chips can serve everywhere, making them ubiquitous, pervasive, certainly wireless, and often energy-autonomous. The expected six Billion users of these chips in 2020, through their mobile, intelligent companions, will benefit from global and largely equal access to information, education, knowledge, skills, and care.