Fiftieth anniversary of integrated circuit

“The development of the integrated circuit (IC) made possible great cost reductions in electronics. This allowed the technology to spread rapidly through all areas of society. Found in everything from memories and microprocessors to mobile phones, TVs, media players, navigation systems, games consoles, watches, cameras and countless other items, ICs are so woven into our lives that it would be hard to imagine a world without them," says Tully.

“Sales in ICs have been growing at about 10% annually for the past several decades. Around [US]$270 billion worth of ICs will be sold globally in 2008.

“The integrated circuit is the engine of the information age. It has been a catalyst for the democratisation of knowledge and changing global social structures. It facilitates mass communication through mobile phones and large-scale access to information and entertainment through the internet. But how do we compare these benefits with the life-saving use of ICs in body scanners, pacemakers and other medical systems? Or the development of hearing aids that enhance people's quality of life? These benefits can't be compared but we can be sure of one thing - the IC has benefited society in countless ways,” says Tully.