Akira Matsuzawa, Professor Emeritus of Tokyo Institute of Technology
and CEO of Tech Idea, Kawasaki, Japan
The past 50 years has been an era in which analog equipment has been replaced by digital counterparts. Audio, TV, video, camcorder, camera, recording, wired connection, and wireless communication have been subject to digitization. The digitization of these devices and systems was due to the technological shift from bipolar to CMOS, and to the development of logic and memory circuits supported by scaling laws. In addition, design innovation in mixed-signal integrated circuits such as ADCs and DACs has shown to be indispensable. This talk will look back on the digitization of equipment and the mixed-signal integrated circuit technology that contributed to it. Further, we will look forward to future applications and developments.