The U CSD Guardia Volume 49, Number 16 University of California, Laser Pushes Computer Technology into the 90's l3y THOMA ' RANKIN Nc\\ ~ Ed,tor 'Quant urn leap' IS a term design, make and tes l often, perhaps too often, used prototype and limited ­ to describe advances In production speciali zed circuits technolo&>,)'. In reference to a from weeks to a few hour..,. ne\\ Iy-de\eloped process of - A major thrust of the effort si li con chip imprinting, is to cou pl e the laser howe\'er, 'q uantum leap' is an pantography process \\ it h understatement Ix)rdering on both a computer laser th e grotesque. controller and another The process, labelled laser computer program thai pantography by its crl'atnr". dp"'lgns and performs the effectivel} renders current placement of the circuit on the chip technology obsolete and chip, prOl11heS acro"'" the-hoard A lotall\' automated sv!"otem changes for computers of the l'\en hold-... the promi ... e that future. Among th~' ad\ancl'll1- Po\\ erful computer systems ent :-: will be able to "reproduce" - :\1 0 I"l' than 1,f)O fold thern..,el\'l's without thl' I'l'duction !I1 SIZl', It \\111 be e,\tel""i\,e human part IClpa pos..,iblt·, rl'~l'ardH'ts ~a~, to tlO11 and effort nm\ reqUIred. ilhrrilJ\.· the CIrcuItry of ":-"C'\\ general Ions of ('\'('r t () d a) 's 111 0..; I p II \\' I: rf u I mon° p()\\t'rful COIllputt:r.., can COlllplIll'r ... onto it wafer of Ihtl ... c\'ol\'l' in tlays rather "llicOIl 11\ I' IIldll'~ in dianwler. Ihall in the \ ('iu-s Ihal Herman are leading the len­ Persona i COIllpU tel's of the llllTl'nt h ... epar~lte genera­ pl'r ... ol1 I('am \\orkll1g on la"er future u!'ing a single wafer of tion"," ;..aid Dr. Lowell \\'()()d. pantography a ... part of a thIS t \ pl' could l'astl~ ha\'t~ the h e ado r t h l' La \\ I' a nee cumhined lJepartTl1l'nt of p"\\'l'r of toda\ '" .... upl'rcompu­ LI\'('lmol'l' ~atl()l1al Lahora' Enl'r).,f\' iI )l)E) and I'S '.;an t t:r l'()S 11Ilg ,~I iI III i II ion. tory ILl \iU Special Studll's dillr t"1) clL'\ elop a nl'\\' typt' (;r - \\'11L'n lull~ liI:\ l'lopt'd, la"l'r Croup, \\ hlCh tll'\ eloped 11ll' III u 111'pn ICl',,;"'!)r "t1 pprcOIl1 pu pantogl aphy, LUupled 10 a pn,l'l'ss. IeI', the S-\. "J)l'cial computer ('I)eil.' for B<.'atin~ Japan .. \\' e need com pu t t'l'" I ha t ~aicl Carl lIau"'~mann, LL:-":L Tlw t r:Jdlllonal met hod h,r making Intl'!.,rrated nrcuits. L L N L Ph\' S III S t s H I' III l' are 100 10 I,OO() time" fa"tl'r A,,-;ociale DlIectr at Large, rnaklnl! IIltegrtl'd CIrcuIt" will reduce the time needed to i\lt \\tIltal11s -ancl !Jr. 11'\ lI1g 111,m thosl' no\\' a\'adable," "and are \'en'lntt'l'6Iecl In {'~ In\tJht'''' rep('dtcd eriC (! Cmerl1Illl'n: Indu ... tn·. and procc, "'c" .... uch a. phutu­ lllll\ er..,11 it'.., \\ (Irking t(;gl'lht'r, graphIc "I:>urning" (If the 111 as I hey art' 111 ]ap;lI1, 10 nm "urface, \.oatmg of thm Technology Repeats Itself ad\ anel' oUI' (,ountI'\' laY(,J"!"o of important dectri '