English for Specific Purposes

12 Electronic Engineering

 

 

SPECIALIST READING A: Electronics and Microelectronics

 

9. Scan the text and match the headings (a – f) with the paragraphs (1 – 6). There is one heading you will not need to use.

 

a) Revolution in electronics;

b) Ways to go on;

c) Circuit components;

d) History of circuits;

e) Essential difference;

f) The core of the matter;

10. Read the text and answer the questions.

 

1. When and how did the distinction between electronics and microelectronics start?

2. Why was electronics termed as “radio technology” till 1950?

3. Can you name some of semiconducting materials? What are their properties?

4. How can electronic and microelectronic components be packaged?

5. Which techniques are commonly used to connect circuit components?

6. What does an integrated circuit typically consist of?

7. Where are ICs widely used? Why?

 

 

1. ______________________________

 

Microelectronics is a subfield of electronics which is the branch of science and technology making use of the controlled motion of electrons through different media and vacuum. The ability to control electron flow is usually applied to information handling or device control.

 

Electronics is distinct from electrical science and technology, which deals with the generation, distribution, control and application of electrical power. This distinction started around 1906 with the invention by Lee De Forest of the triode, which made electrical amplification possible with a non-mechanical device. Until 1950 this field was called "radio technology" because its principal application was the design and theory of radio transmitters, receivers and vacuum tubes.

 

Electronics in general deals with producing electronic devices and electronic system components used to affect the electrons or their associated fields in a desired manner consistent with the intended function of the electronic system.

 

2. ______________________________

 

Microelectronics, as the name suggests, is related to the study and manufacture, or microfabrication, of electronic components which are very small (usually micrometre-scale or smaller, but not always). These devices are made from semiconductors – materials that have an electrical conductivity due to flowing electrons (as opposed to ionic conductivity) which is intermediate in magnitude between that of a conductor and an insulator. This means roughly in the range 103 to 10−8 siemens per centimeter.

 

Devices made from semiconductor materials are the foundation of modern electronics and microelectronics. Semiconductor materials are principally silicon, germanium, and gallium arsenide, as well as organic semiconductors like aromatic hydrocarbons and polyacetylene with its derivatives.

 

3. ______________________________

 

Electronic and microelectronic components can be packaged singly or in complex groups named circuits. An electronic circuit is composed of individual electronic components, such as resistors, transistors, capacitors, inductors and diodes, connected by conductive wires or traces through which electrical current can flow. The combination of components and wires allows various simple and complex operations to be performed: signals can be