A look into the future of nanoelectronics

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the VLSI Symposium, it is appropriate to reflect on the past and peer into the future. It is clear that continuing scaling in the coming decade is no longer an evolution but rather a revolution involving materials science based engineering at the device level and computer science at the systems level - not "living apart together" but intensely interlinked in the design world. The challenges are daunting: materials and device breakthroughs, innovations in circuit and system architecture, new design tools and skills are urgently needed if we are to reconcile nanoscale realities with the promises of nomadic connectivity and "embedded-everywhere" systems. Close interactions among a multitude of disciplines are mandatory. But while "getting it all together" is not for the faint of heart, life has never been more exciting for the scientist with a sharp eye and an open mind.