Editing Miniaturization

{{short description|Trend to manufacture ever smaller products and devices}}
{{about|the common change in machinery|the science fiction element|Size change in fiction}}
[[File:Apple iPod Chargers.jpg|thumb|Battery chargers for successive generations of [[Apple Inc.|Apple's]] [[iPod]]]]

'''Miniaturization''' ([[British English|Br.Eng.]]: ''miniaturisation'') is the trend to manufacture ever-smaller mechanical, optical, and electronic products and devices. Examples include miniaturization of [[mobile phones]], [[computers]] and vehicle [[engine downsizing]]. In [[electronics]], the exponential [[List of semiconductor scale examples|scaling and miniaturization]] of [[silicon]] [[MOSFET]]s (MOS transistors)<ref name="Motoyoshi"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Tortoise of Transistors Wins the Race - CHM Revolution |url=https://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/digital-logic/12/279 |website=[[Computer History Museum]] |access-date=22 July 2019}}</ref><ref name="Colinge2005">{{cite book |last1=Colinge |first1=Jean-Pierre |last2=Colinge |first2=C. A. |title=Physics of Semiconductor Devices |date=2005 |publisher=[[Springer Science & Business Media]] |isbn=9780387285238 |page=165 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-o5bAG5pR3AC&pg=PA165}}</ref> leads to the [[transistor count|number of transistors]] on an [[integrated circuit]] chip doubling every two years,<ref name="Siozios">{{cite book |last1=Siozios |first1=Kostas |last2=Anagnostos |first2=Dimitrios |last3=Soudris |first3=Dimitrios |last4=Kosmatopoulos |first4=Elias |title=IoT for Smart Grids: Design Challenges and Paradigms |date=2018 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9783030036409 |page=167 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P5l7DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA167}}</ref><ref name="eetimes"/> an observation known as [[Moore's law]].<ref name="Moore1965paper"/><ref name="IntelInterview"/> This leads to [[MOS integrated circuit]]s such as [[microprocessors]] and [[memory chip]]s being built with increasing [[transistor density]], faster performance, and lower [[power consumption]], enabling the miniaturization of [[electronics industry|electronic devices]].<ref name="Sridharan">{{cite book |last1=Sridharan |first1=K. |last2=Pudi |first2=Vikramkumar |title=Design of Arithmetic Circuits in Quantum Dot Cellular Automata Nanotechnology |date=2015 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9783319166889 |page=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lJ-1BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1}}</ref><ref name="Colinge2005"/>

== Electronic circuits ==
{{Further|List of semiconductor scale examples|Moore's law|Semiconductor device fabrication|Transistor count}}

The history of miniaturization is associated with the [[history of information technology]] based on the succession of switching devices, each smaller, faster, and cheaper than its predecessor.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Nanostructuring Operations in Nanoscale Science and Engineering|url=https://archive.org/details/nanostructuringo00shar|url-access=limited|last=Sharma|first=Karl|publisher=McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.|year=2010|isbn=9780071626095|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/nanostructuringo00shar/page/n28 16]}}</ref> During the period referred to as the [[Second Industrial Revolution]] ({{circa|1870–1914}}), miniaturization was confined to two-dimensional electronic circuits used for the manipulation of information.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Introduction to Micromechanisms and Microactuators|last1=Ghosh|first1=Amitabha|last2=Corves|first2=Burkhard|publisher=Springer|year=2015| isbn=9788132221432|location=Heidelberg|pages=32}}</ref> This orientation is demonstrated in the use of vacuum tubes in the first general-purpose computers. The technology gave way to the development of [[transistors]] in the 1950s and then the [[integrated circuit]] (IC) approach which followed.<ref name=":0" />
[[File:Het kleinste TV-apparaat ter wereld, Bestanddeelnr 914-9265 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Demonstrating a miniature television device in 1963.]]
The MOSFET was invented at Bell Labs between 1955 and 1960.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last1=Huff |first1=Howard |last2=Riordan |first2=Michael |date=2007-09-01 |title=Frosch and Derick: Fifty Years Later (Foreword) |url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1149/2.F02073IF |journal=The Electrochemical Society Interface |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=29 |doi=10.1149/2.F02073IF |issn=1064-8208|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Frosch |first1=C. J. |last2=Derick |first2=L |date=1957 |title=Surface Protection and Selective Masking during Diffusion in Silicon |url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1149/1.2428650 |journal=Journal of the Electrochemical Society |language=en |volume=104 |issue=9 |pages=547 |doi=10.1149/1.2428650|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=KAHNG |first=D. |date=1961 |title=Silicon-Silicon Dioxide Surface Device |url=https://doi.org/10.1142/9789814503464_0076 |journal=Technical Memorandum of Bell Laboratories|pages=583–596 |doi=10.1142/9789814503464_0076 |isbn=978-981-02-0209-5 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Lojek |first=Bo |title=History of Semiconductor Engineering |date=2007 |publisher=Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg |isbn=978-3-540-34258-8 |location=Berlin, Heidelberg |page=321}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ligenza |first1=J.R. |last2=Spitzer |first2=W.G. |date=1960 |title=The mechanisms for silicon oxidation in steam and oxygen |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/0022369760902195 |journal=Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids |language=en |volume=14 |pages=131–136 |doi=10.1016/0022-3697(60)90219-5|bibcode=1960JPCS...14..131L |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Lojek1202">{{cite book |last1=Lojek |first1=Bo |title=History of Semiconductor Engineering |date=2007 |publisher=[[Springer Science & Business Media]] |isbn=9783540342588 |page=120}}</ref> It was the first truly compact [[transistor]] that could be miniaturized and mass-produced for a wide range of uses,<ref name="Moskowitz">{{cite book |last1=Moskowitz |first1=Sanford L. |title=Advanced Materials Innovation: Managing Global Technology in the 21st century |date=2016 |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |isbn=9780470508923 |pages=165–167 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2STRDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA165}}</ref> due to its [[MOSFET scaling|high scalability]]<ref name="Motoyoshi">{{cite journal |last1=Motoyoshi |first1=M. |title=Through-Silicon Via (TSV) |journal=Proceedings of the IEEE |date=2009 |volume=97 |issue=1 |pages=43–48 |doi=10.1109/JPROC.2008.2007462 |s2cid=29105721 |url=https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/8a44/93b535463daa7d7317b08d8900a33b8cbaf4.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719120523/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/8a44/93b535463daa7d7317b08d8900a33b8cbaf4.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2019-07-19 |issn=0018-9219}}</ref> and low [[power consumption]], leading to increasing [[transistor density]].<ref name="eetimes">{{cite news |title=Transistors Keep Moore's Law Alive |url=https://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1334068 |access-date=18 July 2019 |work=[[EETimes]] |date=12 December 2018}}</ref> This made it possible to build [[Very Large Scale Integration|high-density IC chips]],<ref name="computerhistory-transistor">{{cite web |title=Who Invented the Transistor? |url=https://www.computerhistory.org/atchm/who-invented-the-transistor/ |website=[[Computer History Museum]] |date=4 December 2013 |access-date=20 July 2019}}</ref> with reduced cost-per-transistor as transistor density increased.<ref name="Brock">{{Cite book|title=Understanding Moore's Law: Four Decades of Innovation|last1=Brock|first1=David|last2=Moore|first2=Gordon|publisher=Chemical Heritage Press|year=2006|isbn=0941901416|location=Philadelphia, PA|pages=26}}</ref>

In the early 1960s, [[Gordon Moore]], who later founded [[Intel]], recognized that the ideal electrical and scaling characteristics of MOSFET devices would lead to rapidly increasing integration levels and unparalleled growth in [[electronics|electronic]] applications.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Golio |first1=Mike |last2=Golio |first2=Janet |title=RF and Microwave Passive and Active Technologies |date=2018 |publisher=[[CRC Press]] |isbn=9781420006728 |pages=18–5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MCj9jxSVQKIC&pg=SA18-PA5}}</ref> [[Moore's law]], which he described in 1965, and which was later named after him,<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Nanoscience and Society|last=Guston|first=David|publisher=SAGE Publications|year=2010|isbn=9781412969871|location=Thousand Oaks, CA|pages=440}}</ref> predicted that the number of [[transistors]] on an IC for minimum component cost would double every 18&nbsp;months.{{contradictory inline|date=January 2024|note=the lead says 24 months}}<ref name="Moore1965paper">{{cite web|year=1965 |url=ftp://download.intel.com/museum/Moores_Law/Articles-Press_Releases/Gordon_Moore_1965_Article.pdf |title=Cramming more components onto integrated circuits |pages=4 |publisher=[[Electronics Magazine]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080218224945/http://download.intel.com/museum/Moores_Law/Articles-Press_Releases/Gordon_Moore_1965_Article.pdf |archive-date=2008-02-18 |url-status=dead |access-date=November 11, 2006 }}</ref><ref name="IntelInterview">{{cite web|year=2005 |url=ftp://download.intel.com/museum/Moores_Law/Video-Transcripts/Excepts_A_Conversation_with_Gordon_Moore.pdf |title=Excerpts from A Conversation with Gordon Moore: Moore's Law |pages=1 |publisher=[[Intel Corporation]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080218225540/http://download.intel.com/museum/Moores_Law/Video-Transcripts/Excepts_A_Conversation_with_Gordon_Moore.pdf |archive-date=2008-02-18 |url-status=dead |access-date=May 2, 2006 }}</ref> In 1974, [[Robert H. Dennard]] at [[IBM]] recognized the rapid [[MOSFET scaling]] technology and formulated the related [[Dennard scaling]] rule.<ref name=cartesian>{{cite web|url=http://cartesianproduct.wordpress.com/2013/04/15/the-end-of-dennard-scaling/|title = The end of Dennard scaling|date = April 15, 2013|last = McMenamin|first = Adrian|access-date = January 23, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Streetman | first1=Ben G. |last2=Banerjee |first2=Sanjay Kumar | title=Solid state electronic devices | publisher=Pearson | location=Boston | year=2016 | isbn=978-1-292-06055-2 | oclc=908999844 | page=341}}</ref> Moore described the development of miniaturization during the 1975 [[International Electron Devices Meeting]], confirming his earlier predictions.<ref name="Brock"/>

By 2004, electronics companies were producing [[silicon]] IC chips with switching MOSFETs that had feature size as small as [[130 nanometer]]s (nm) and development was also underway for chips a [[nanoelectronics|few nanometers]] in size through the [[nanotechnology]] initiative.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Futuristic Materials|last1=Jha|first1=B.B|last2=Galgali|first2=R.K.|last3=Misra|first3=Vibhuti|publisher=Allied Publishers|year=2004|isbn=8177646168|location=New Delhi|pages=55}}</ref> The focus is to make components smaller to increase the number that can be integrated into a single wafer and this required critical innovations, which include increasing wafer size, the development of sophisticated metal connections between the chip's circuits, and improvement in the [[polymer]]s used for masks ([[photoresist]]s) in the [[photolithography]] processes.<ref name=":3" /> These last two are the areas where miniaturization has moved into the nanometer range.<ref name=":3" />

== Other fields ==
Miniaturization became a trend in the last fifty years and came to cover not just electronic but also mechanical devices.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Science in Popular Culture: A Reference Guide|url=https://archive.org/details/sciencepopularcu00ripe|url-access=limited|last=Van Riper|first=A. Bowdoin|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=2002|isbn=0313318220|location=Westport, CT|pages=[https://archive.org/details/sciencepopularcu00ripe/page/n210 193]}}</ref> The process for miniaturizing mechanical devices is more complex due to the way the structural properties of mechanical parts change as they are reduced in scale.<ref name=":2" /> It has been said that the so-called [[Digital Revolution|Third Industrial Revolution]] (1969&nbsp;–&nbsp;c.&nbsp;2015) is based on economically viable technologies that can shrink three-dimensional objects.<ref name=":1" />

In [[medical technology]], engineers and designers have been exploring miniaturization to shrink components to the micro and nanometer range. Smaller devices can have lower cost, be made more portable (e.g.: for ambulances), and allow simpler and less invasive medical procedures.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.medicalmoulds.com/micro-moulding-and-miniaturisation-in-medtech/| title = Micro Moulding and Miniaturisation in MedTech | website = Micro Systems | date = 17 May 2023 | access-date = 18 May 2023}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Microtechnology]]
*[[Nanotechnology]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.genomicglossaries.com/content/miniaturization_glossary.asp Miniaturization – Glossary definition]

[[Category:Industrial processes]]
[[Category:Technological change]]