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The physics of computing / Marilyn Wolf.

By: Wolf, Marilyn, 1958- [author].
Material type: materialTypeLabelBookPublisher: Cambridge, England : Morgan Kaufmann / Elsevier, [2017]Copyright date: ©2017Description: xi, 264 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.Content type: text Media type: unmediated Carrier type: volumeISBN: 9780128093818 (paperback).Subject(s): System design | I WISH Foundation Women's STEM ProjectDDC classification: 003
List(s) this item appears in: I WISH Foundation Women's STEM Project Collection

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The Physics of Computing gives a foundational view of the physical principles underlying computers. Performance, power, thermal behavior, and reliability are all harder and harder to achieve as transistors shrink to nanometer scales. This book describes the physics of computing at all levels of abstraction from single gates to complete computer systems.

It can be used as a course for juniors or seniors in computer engineering and electrical engineering, and can also be used to teach students in other scientific disciplines important concepts in computing. For electrical engineering, the book provides the fundamentals of computing that link core concepts to computing. For computer science, it provides foundations of key challenges such as power consumption, performance, and thermal. The book can also be used as a technical reference by professionals.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 253-258) and index.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

  • Preface (p. ix)
  • Chapter 1 Electronic Computers (p. 1)
  • 1.1 Introduction (p. 1)
  • 1.2 The long road to computers (p. 1)
  • 1.2.1 Mechanical computing devices (p. 2)
  • 1.2.2 Theories of computing (p. 4)
  • 1.2.3 Electronic computers (p. 6)
  • 1.3 Computer system metrics (p. 9)
  • 1.4 A tour of this book (p. 10)
  • 1.5 Synthesis (p. 11)
  • Questions (p. 11)
  • Chapter 2 Transistors and Integrated Circuits (p. 13)
  • 2.1 Introduction (p. 13)
  • 2.2 Electron devices and electronic circuits (p. 13)
  • 2.2.1 Early vacuum tube devices (p. 13)
  • 2.2.2 Vacuum tube triode (p. 15)
  • 2.3 Physics of materials (p. 18)
  • 2.3.1 Metals (p. 19)
  • 2.3.2 Boltzmann's constant and temperature (p. 22)
  • 2.3.3 Semiconductors (p. 24)
  • 2.4 Solid-state devices (p. 29)
  • 2.4.1 Semiconductor diode (p. 30)
  • 2.4.2 MOS capacitor (p. 33)
  • 2.4.3 Basic MOSFET operation (p. 37)
  • 2.4.4 Advanced MOSFET characteristics (p. 45)
  • 2.5 Integrated circuits (p. 48)
  • 2.5.1 Moore's Law (p. 49)
  • 2.5.2 Manufacturing processes (p. 51)
  • 2.5.3 Lithography (p. 55)
  • 2.5.4 Yield (p. 57)
  • 2.5.5 Separation of concerns (p. 58)
  • 2.6 Synthesis (p. 59)
  • Questions (p. 59)
  • Chapter 3 Logic Gates (p. 63)
  • 3.1 Introduction (p. 63)
  • 3.2 The CMOS inverter (p. 64)
  • 3.3 Static gate characteristics (p. 67)
  • 3.4 Delay (p. 72)
  • 3.4.1 Transistor models (p. 73)
  • 3.4.2 RC models for delay (p. 76)
  • 3.4.3 Drive and loads (p. 83)
  • 3.5 Power and energy (p. 85)
  • 3.8 Scaling theory (p. 90)
  • 3.7 Reliability (p. 94)
  • 3.8 Synthesis (p. 96)
  • Questions (p. 96)
  • Chapter 4 Sequential Machines (p. 99)
  • 4.1 Introduction (p. 99)
  • 4.2 Combinational logic (p. 99)
  • 4.2.1 The event model (p. 99)
  • 4.2.2 The network model (p. 100)
  • 4.2.3 Gain and reliability (p. 103)
  • 4.2.4 Gain and delay (p. 105)
  • 4.2.5 Delay and power (p. 108)
  • 4.2.6 Noise and reliability in logic and interconnect (p. 109)
  • 4.2.7 Power supply and reliability (p. 109)
  • 4.2.8 Noise and input/output coupling (p. 115)
  • 4.3 Interconnect (p. 116)
  • 4.3.1 Parasitic impedance (p. 116)
  • 4.3.2 Transmission lines (p. 118)
  • 4.3.3 Crosstalk (p. 124)
  • 4.3.4 Wiring complexity and Rent's Rule (p. 126)
  • 4.4 Sequential machines (p. 128)
  • 4.4.1 Sequential models (p. 128)
  • 4.4.2 Registers (p. 131)
  • 4.4.3 Clocking (p. 134)
  • 4.4.4 Metastability (p. 140)
  • 4.5 Synthesis (p. 144)
  • Questions (p. 145)
  • Chapter 5 Processors and Systems (p. 149)
  • 5.1 Introduction (p. 149)
  • 5.2 System reliability (p. 150)
  • 5.3 Processors (p. 153)
  • 5.3.1 Microprocessor characteristics (p. 153)
  • 5.3.2 Busses and interconnect (p. 155)
  • 5.3.3 Global communication (p. 159)
  • 5.3.4 Clocking (p. 161)
  • 5.4 Memory (p. 168)
  • 5.4.1 Memory structures (p. 168)
  • 5.4.2 Memory system performance (p. 172)
  • 5.4.3 DRAM systems (p. 174)
  • 5.4.4 DRAM reliability (p. 176)
  • 5.5 Mass storage (p. 177)
  • 5.5.1 Magnetic disk drives (p. 177)
  • 5.5.2 Flash memory (p. 178)
  • 5.5.3 Storage and performance (p. 181)
  • 5.6 System power consumption (p. 182)
  • 5.6.1 Server systems (p. 182)
  • 5.6.2 Mobile systems and batteries (p. 185)
  • 5.6.3 Power management (p. 188)
  • 5.7 Heat transfer (p. 189)
  • 5.7.1 Heat transfer characteristics (p. 190)
  • 5.7.2 Heat transfer modeling (p. 192)
  • 57.3 Heat and reliability (p. 198)
  • 5.7.4 Thermal management (p. 200)
  • 5.8 Synthesis (p. 201)
  • Questions (p. 201)
  • Chapter 6 Input and Output (p. 205)
  • 6.1 Introduction (p. 205)
  • 6.2 Displays (p. 205)
  • 6.3 Image sensors (p. 211)
  • 6.4 Touch sensors (p. 216)
  • 6.5 Microphones (p. 217)
  • 6.6 Accelerometers and inertial sensors (p. 218)
  • 6.7 Synthesis (p. 220)
  • Questions (p. 220)
  • Chapter 7 Emerging Technologies (p. 221)
  • 7.1 Introduction (p. 221)
  • 7.2 Carbon nanotubes (p. 221)
  • 7.2.1 Nanotube transistors (p. 222)
  • 7.3 Quantum computers (p. 223)
  • 7.4 Synthesis (p. 228)
  • Appendix A Useful Constants and Formulas (p. 229)
  • Appendix B Circuits (p. 233)
  • Appendix C Probability (p. 241)
  • Appendix D Advanced Topics (p. 243)
  • References (p. 253)
  • Index (p. 259)

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Marilyn Wolf Professor, Rhesa "Ray" S. Farmer, Jr., Distinguished Chair in Embedded Computing Systems Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar