Very large-scale integrated circuitry

Bellcore s keen interest was understandable. The central office of a telephone company is, after all, one gigantic computer, and the new materials offered endless opportunities to improve communications technology. For example, very large-scale integrated circuitry (known as VLSI in the trade), the tiny complex of electronic components and their connections that are embedded in or on thin slices of silicon—the familiar microchips—could benefit enormously from the development of practical, high-temperature superconducting materials. 

Polymeric electro-optic materials also attracted attention because of potential for dramatically improved length-bandwidth product and putative improved pro-cessibility, which could translate into improved integration with very large scale integration (VLSI) semiconductor circuitry. Unlike the situation with LiNb03, optical loss is a potential problem for organic materials that must be carefully considered for each device application. 

In very-large-scale production, another possibility presents itself the design of special integrated circuits. It is quite possible to incorporate special-purpose analog and/or digital interface circuitry on the same chip as the... 

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