eFutures: university research in electronics

英国大学迫切需要一个新的网络来巩固电子研究。近年来，技术发生了重大变化，因为对小型化的推动导致了具有远离理想晶体管开关特性的元件通过导线瞬间互连。今天的晶体管变得太热，泄漏电流，大小不一，在指甲大小的芯片上生产数十亿个，通过几英里的布线相对缓慢地互连。这对设计师来说是一个巨大的挑战，他们已经面临着令人眼花缭乱的设计复杂性。公众对所有的电子产品都有兴趣，并且每年都需要新的和更好的产品。这也为设计师带来了挑战，为电子行业带来了机遇。通过共同努力，这些挑战可以得到解决，使英国的电子社区适合在未来几年面对设计和技术之间的接口的关键挑战。作为对国家微电子研究所（NMI）和电子知识转移网络（EKTN）等面向行业的团体的补充，该网络将成为政府和媒体高度可见的协调联盟的一部分，他们可以使用它来获取信息，意见和澄清这一领域。这对英国经济很重要，因为全球电子市场每年价值超过1万亿美元。最初的成员将来自形成Si Futures网络的技术社区和参与设计共同愿景的技术社区。他们共同代表了英国学术界的重要比例。人们认识到，一个比以前的网络赠款所包括的更广泛的电子研究社区需要走到一起。

There is a strong need for a new network to consolidate electronics research in UK universities. In recent years there have been major changes in technology, as the push for miniaturization has led to components with characteristics far from ideal transistor switches interconnected by wires instantaneously. Today's transistors get too hot, leak current, vary in size and are produced in their billions on chips the size of a thumb nail interconnected relatively slowly by miles of wiring. This creates a formidable challenge for designers, who already face the complexity of design on a bewildering scale. The public have an appetite for all things electronic and demand new and better products year on year. This also creates a challenge for designers and an opportunity for the electronics community. By working together these challenges can be tackled, making the UK's electronics community fit for purpose in the coming years to face critical challenges at the interface between design and technology. Complementing industry facing groups such as the National Microelectronics Institute (NMI) and the Electronics Knowledge Transfer Network (EKTN), the network will form part of a highly visible coordinated alliance to government and the media, who can use it for information, opinion and clarification in this space. This is important for the UK economy as the global electronics market is worth more than a trillion dollars annually. The initial membership will be drawn from the technology community who formed the Si Futures network and those participating in the design Common Vision. Together they represent a significant proportion of the UK academic community. There is a recognition that a broader electronics research community than those included in the previous network grants need to come together.