Sustaining Moore's law and the US economy

COMPUTING IN SCIENCE & ENGINEERING Semiconductors are indispensable to the modern economy. The semiconductor— through its synchronous increase in power and decline in price—has contributed significantly to the United States’ economic growth over the past decade.1,2 The technological advances spurred by this regular and predictable rate of growth in power (as described by Moore’s law) have enhanced the level of productivity in the US economy, not only in “New Economy” sectors such as computers, telecommunications, and software, but in traditional industries such as banking and trucking as well. The cumulative effect of this pervasive technology, and the organizational changes undertaken to capture its benefits, continue to transform important elements of the US economy. The advantages of semiconductors are not confined to their applications. The production of semiconductors brings significant advantages, not just in the context of high value-added semiconductor production, but also in terms of dynamic effects—often through the growth of clusters—that the industry’s presence brings to a region or a national economy. There is, in recognition of such benefits, a fierce locational competition for the semiconductor industry. Although this competition is global, its economic consequences are local. Overlaying this competition is the shared challenge of sustaining the performance predicted in Moore’s law, which highlights the need for cooperative efforts to overcome current technical challenges facing the industry.