Abstract :
Summary form only given, as follows. The aim of the European Solid-State Circuits Conference (ESSCIRC) is to provide an annual forum for the latest advances in Solid State Circuits. This year is the 17th edition of ESSCIRC and the first time that the conference is held in Italy. The key point for the success of a conference is the quality and technical value of the papers. This year 72 regular papers, selected out of more than 170 submitted contributions of very high quality, are presented. In addition, the program includes 11 invited papers from authoritative speakers in selected areas of major interest. A novel feature of this conference is a series of double invited papers on Telecom, HDTV and Automotive presenting the points of view of both IC users and designers. The truly international nature of the conference is shown by the 13 different countries from which the accepted papers originate. Of special interest is the unusually high number from both Japan and the USA, which together make up approximately 20% of the program. This is an indication of the increased worldwide interest toward both ESSCIRC and European activities in IC design. Looking at the technical content of the program some general considerations can be made. Out of the 15 technical sessions the largest single topic is that of analog or mixed analog/digital circuits. This has always been a peculiar characteristic of ESSCIRC. This year, however, more and more system-on-a-chip are appearing in addition to the more classical analog blocks like amplifiers, filters, converters etc. Due in part to the sizeable Japanese presence, the subject of digital circuits is well represented with one session devoted entirely to Memories. Two sessions on New Architectures, one on Digital Signal Processing and one on CAD emphasize the importance of these subjects. Two sessions on Telecom complete the set of topics classically presented at ESSCIRC. Two novel sessions one on Testing and the other on Smart Sensors dem- nstrate the growing importance of these subjects. This year, on the day before the conference, ESSCIRC is jointly sponsoring with the European Community a workshop on Analog Design that should become a regular addition to the conference. Last but not least, I would like to thank the Technical Program Committee members for their diligent and competent work in selecting the paper, the Session Chairman whose work is key to the smooth running of the program and the invited and regular Speakers whose contributions I am certain will make ESSCIRC´91 a real success. I look forward to seeing a record number of attendees and wish all participants a fruitful and enjoyable conference.
