Recent progress in Japan

It is hoped that the area entitled "Recent Progress in Japan" will provide the audience with a better understanding of computer technology in Japan. The primary objective is to overview the present status and the future prospects of both semiconductor and computer technologies from viewpoints of recent activities in the field of research and development, and to present some main research efforts on the development of computers and their application systems suitable for Japanese society. The first session consisting of two papers is devoted to presenting the state of semiconductor technology in Japan. Semiconductor technology is expected to be responsible for the next major evolution, not only in the computer industry but also in the electronics industry in general. The first paper includes a review of the recent advances in electron optical studies relating to electron beam pattern generation with sub-micron resolution using the variable shaped beam technique. The direct-writing electron beam technology capable of sub-micron geometry is considered to be one of the most important steps towards the achievement of advanced VLSI Ies for next-generation computers. The second paper presents research and development activities in both academic laboratories and semiconductor industries in Japan. It also explores new semiconductor devices offering excellent high-speed switching characteristics with low power dissipation, which are expected to be used for realizing future computers. The second session is intended to overview the development of computers and technical progress in their application systems in three separate papers. The first paper describes, after a short historical background, the technological characteristics of newly developed computer series with emphasis on their architectures and LSI implementations. The research and development projects of both VLSI and PIPS (Pattern Information Processing System), which are organized by computer industries, academic laboratories and the Government are taken up briefly. The second paper discusses recent features and future prospects of remote data processing in Japan from the viewpoints of various aspects of technology, such as development background, computer network architecture or telecommunication. The final paper discusses the technological trends in real-time application systems through describing the design concept of a very reliable operation control system for the high-speed railway system called the "Shinkansen."