Opening Up the Physical World to Exploration: Probing Circuits and Transistors Inside an Integrated Circuit

与前几代学生相比，今天的学生似乎技能较低，对与物理世界互动的兴趣也较低。这是作者的论点，这不是由于文化和社会因素，（eidovv太多）而是由于先进技术产品的集成和复杂性的先进状态，无论是在日常世界还是在实验室。这阻碍了修修补补和实验，而修修补补和实验是吸引年轻人从事工程学的关键。 建议通过修改电气工程中的数字电路实验室来解决这个问题，以便学生可以查看内部并修补集成电路。传统上，学生们在实验室里通过在黑盒I.C.内部连接看不见的晶体管来制作数字逻辑门。's.在拟议的实验室里，学生们将有机会接触到真实的I. C。 通过使用针形探针来物理接触和连接到专门设计的I.C.上的各个晶体管和电路。 他们将能够直接将晶体管和电路性能与晶体管和电路的物理参数联系起来，他们可以通过目视检查看到这些参数，并通过物理接触不同的电路来改变这些参数。这类似于用扳手攻击汽车发动机并在其中玩耍，而不是试图在汽车引擎盖关闭和发动机无法接近的情况下了解它们。

Students today seem less skilled and have less interest in interacting with the physical world than those of earlier generations. It is the thesis of the author that this is not due to the cultural and societal factors, (e.g. too much T.V.) but rather due to the advanced state of integration and complexity in advanced technological products, both in the everyday world as well as in laboratories. This discourages tinkering and experimentation which are crucial in attracting young people to engineering. It is proposed to address this issue by modifying a digital circuit laboratory in electrical engineering so that students can look inside of and tinker with integrated circuits. Conventionally, students make digital logic gates in lab by wiring up invisible transistors which are inside black-box I.C.'s. In the proposed labs, the students will have access to the inside of a real I.C. through the use of needle probes to physically contact and connect to individual transistors and circuits on a specially designed I.C. They will be able to directly relate transistor and circuit performance to the physical parameters of the transistors and circuits, which they can see by visual inspection and change by physically contacting different circuits. This is analogous to examining auto engines by attacking them with wrenches and playing inside of them, rather than trying to learn about them with the hood of the car closed and the engine inaccessible.