IEEE Circuits and Systems Magazine - Q4 2022 - 78

Figure 3. In Moore's Law 1.x, scientists (physicist, chemist, etc.) define the path. For Moore's Law 2.0, circuit professionals
take the lead.
The gist of the arguments carried in this book is the
three pieces of messages and the two ideas, as briefed
above. To implement the strategic change from space
to time, or to materialize the visions, Mr. Xiu has provided
some evidential details in the book, for example in
chapter four and six. In chapter four, a tool called TimeAverage-Frequency
Direct Period Synthesis (TAF-DPS)
is explicated for executing the idea of nonuniform-flowof-time.
TAF-DPS, which is invented by Mr. Xiu himself
years ago, is a utensil for manipulating electrical pulse.
For the past several decades, most of our circuit techniques
are developed for manipulating electrical voltage
since voltage is our focal point in signal processing
(this is especially true for analog circuit design). TAFDPS
offers a circuit technology for handling time-related
issues, counterpart of ADC and DAC that deal with
voltage-related issues. According to him, by solving the
two long-standing problems of " arbitrary frequency
generation " and " instantaneous frequency switching " ,
it makes the nonuniform-flow-of-time possible inside
the electronic world and hence can help electronics become
" cheaper, better and faster " . The entire chapter six
is devoted to the support of this statement by real engineering
cases, many of the materials are borrowed from
his papers published in professional journals and conferences.
Moreover, according to Mr. Xiu, TAF-DPS offers
a vehicle for advancing to the path of rate-of-switching,
paving the way for in-depth discussion in chapter seven.
Another exciting aspect of this book is author's investigation
of microelectronics through the lens of
scientific revolution. Following Thomas Kuhn's (the author
of " The Structure of Scientific Revolutions " ) step
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IEEE CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS MAGAZINE
of examining abnormal and crisis in the development
of science, the author scrutinizes the semiconductor
industry using a similar tactics albeit microelectronics
is not a branch of science but engineering. The book
recognizes the current space-related problem in microelectronics
as a crisis, like the ones we have seen in the
evolution of a pure science (e.g., physics). Crisis leads
to revolution. Following this logic, Mr. Xiu describes the
past activities of microelectronics as occurring inside a
Space-Dominant Paradigm. A paradigm shift, a phrase
created by Kuhn and used here in its original sense by
the author, is therefore called for to overcome this crisis.
The new one is defined as Time-Oriented Paradigm
by Mr. Xiu. I feel that this whole proposition is quite
novel and thought-provoking.
As history taught us, new thinking often meets with resistance
at its debuts. Mr. Xiu acknowledges this actuality
by devoting chapter eight to this concern. By recognizing
the great difficulty with change-of-mindset, he paints a full
picture in explaining why it is necessary for the big ship
of Moore's law to make a turn at this crucial moment. To
set the stage for the whole story, a brief history review of
semiconductor industry is presented in chapter two, an
in-depth discussion on several key notions (space, time,
change and motion) is carried out in chapter three. In section
4.1, a discussion of philosophical nature is included
to persuade reader in a profound level that the turn from
space to time is requisite and is the only worthwhile alternative.
In my view, all those efforts are helpful to make the
change-of-mindset easier and smoother.
(continued on page 80)
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