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Shift register transistor
CURRENT TOPICS Shift Register Transistor.--A "significant breakthrough" in research that may lead to major reduction in the size and complexity of computers, remote control equipment, and other large electronic systems was announced recently by Dr. Irving Wolff, Vice President, Research, of RCA Laboratories. The advance has been achieved in research aimed at developing a new class of ultra-miniature "integrated" electronic devices that will combine many different functions in a few small components, according to Dr. Wolff. "A long forward step has now been taken with an experimental shift register transistor under development by Dr. J. T. Wallmark, of the RCA Laboratories technical staff at the David Sarnoff Research Center," he said. "This laboratory device, only half an inch long and only four-thousandths of an inch thick, is expected with further development to perform in one application functions that now require a circuit arrangement of twenty transistors, forty resistors, and twenty capacitors. The replacement of transistors by a single ultraminiature device is striking enough, but an even greater achievement is the replacement of capacitors and resistors by this integrated device. In this respect, it embodies an entirely new concept in electronic technology." Dr. Wolff stated that laboratory operation of the shift register transistor has now shown the feasibility of integrating not only the tube and transistor components which are the active elements in a circuit, but the
capacitors and resistors--the passive elements--as well. "With the principle successfully established, the way is open to the development not only of an integrated shift register transistor, but of an entire class of integrated devices incorporating new standards of miniaturization, economy, and reliability," he said. "Until now, our efforts to cope with the growing size and complexity of computers and other major electronic systems have been concentrated on miniaturizing and simplifying standard components. At the same time, however, the total number of components has steadily increased, raising new problems of complexity and reliability. This principle of integrating many functions into a single small component should enable us to reverse this trend and to progress toward the development of more economical, versatile, and reliable systems of all types." Dr. Wallmark described the function of a shift register as the shortterm storage of a multiple-digit number or similar information, for subsequent transfer, intact, at the right moment in the computing process. In this way, the information can be related to other data originating elsewhere in the system at a different time, or delayed for delivery at the output as it is needed. In present systems, according to Dr. Wallmark, this function is performed by complex shift register circuits employing up to 20 electron tubes or transistors with their accompanying capacitors and resistors. Dr. Wallmark gave this description 521
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CURRENT TOPICS
[J. F. I.
of one way in which a shift register transistor may be used : The ten transistor-like elements on the single small strip of germanium function as ten separate two-way switches connected in series. Each of these elements can receive and hold a single bit of information in the form of a strong or a weak current, corresponding in computer language to "0" or "1". The series of ten permits storage of a ten-digit number made up of various combinations of these two symbols. The bits of information are fed into the device one by one at high speed at one end, and are shifted from one element to the next, in order, by electrical "shift pulses" passed through the germanium. When the "shift pulses" are stopped, each bit of information will remain in one of the transistor-like elements. When the pulses are re-started, each bit shifts from one element to the next until the pulses are again stopped. When the bits reach the final element, they are "read out" in the same order in which they were fed in at the start. In this way, the information is kept intact, and yet its passage is delayed as long as necessary. "Such a device represents integration not only of ten different positions now requiring two transistors each, but also of the circuits associated with these different positions," said Dr. Wallmark.
told an audience of engineers at the Convention that the complete text of an article is first transcribed onto magnetic or punched tape in a code that can be understood by an electronic data processing machine, such as the IBM 704 computer. The machine then analyzes the text word by word to derive statistical information concerning the frequency and distribution of the words in the text. From this, the machine determines the relative degree of significance of the words and then grades each sentence as to its importance. Sentences scoring highest in significance are automatically extracted from the text and printed out by the machine to form the "Auto-Abstract." In addition to creating abstracts, the system can be used to condense lengthy reports. Abstracting is an important activity in scientific circles, requiring the services of technically skilled people. The Auto-Abstract system offers the possibility of relieving these people of the chore so that they may devote more of their time to scientific work. The system also promises to expedite the translation of foreign scientific articles by producing foreign language abstracts of the original paper. A person then only has to translate the abstract rather than the full paper to find out what is in it, and the translation of full articles can be limited just to those that are found to be especially important.
"Auto-Abstract."--A n el ect r oni c machine that will read a magazine article and then write an abstract of it was disclosed at the national I R E convention recently. The system, called "Auto-Abstract," will be particularly helpful in scanning and excerpting scientific papers and foreign language articles. H. P. Luhn of the IBM Corporation
Control of Fusion through Electronics.--Controlled thermonuclear fusion, in which electronic techniques play a key role, may some day provide electric power from plants producing one million or more kilowatts from only half a pound of fuel a day, a scientist of the Radio Corporation of America predicted in a talk before
capacitors and resistors--the passive elements--as well. "With the principle successfully established, the way is open to the development not only of an integrated shift register transistor, but of an entire class of integrated devices incorporating new standards of miniaturization, economy, and reliability," he said. "Until now, our efforts to cope with the growing size and complexity of computers and other major electronic systems have been concentrated on miniaturizing and simplifying standard components. At the same time, however, the total number of components has steadily increased, raising new problems of complexity and reliability. This principle of integrating many functions into a single small component should enable us to reverse this trend and to progress toward the development of more economical, versatile, and reliable systems of all types." Dr. Wallmark described the function of a shift register as the shortterm storage of a multiple-digit number or similar information, for subsequent transfer, intact, at the right moment in the computing process. In this way, the information can be related to other data originating elsewhere in the system at a different time, or delayed for delivery at the output as it is needed. In present systems, according to Dr. Wallmark, this function is performed by complex shift register circuits employing up to 20 electron tubes or transistors with their accompanying capacitors and resistors. Dr. Wallmark gave this description 521
522
CURRENT TOPICS
[J. F. I.
of one way in which a shift register transistor may be used : The ten transistor-like elements on the single small strip of germanium function as ten separate two-way switches connected in series. Each of these elements can receive and hold a single bit of information in the form of a strong or a weak current, corresponding in computer language to "0" or "1". The series of ten permits storage of a ten-digit number made up of various combinations of these two symbols. The bits of information are fed into the device one by one at high speed at one end, and are shifted from one element to the next, in order, by electrical "shift pulses" passed through the germanium. When the "shift pulses" are stopped, each bit of information will remain in one of the transistor-like elements. When the pulses are re-started, each bit shifts from one element to the next until the pulses are again stopped. When the bits reach the final element, they are "read out" in the same order in which they were fed in at the start. In this way, the information is kept intact, and yet its passage is delayed as long as necessary. "Such a device represents integration not only of ten different positions now requiring two transistors each, but also of the circuits associated with these different positions," said Dr. Wallmark.
told an audience of engineers at the Convention that the complete text of an article is first transcribed onto magnetic or punched tape in a code that can be understood by an electronic data processing machine, such as the IBM 704 computer. The machine then analyzes the text word by word to derive statistical information concerning the frequency and distribution of the words in the text. From this, the machine determines the relative degree of significance of the words and then grades each sentence as to its importance. Sentences scoring highest in significance are automatically extracted from the text and printed out by the machine to form the "Auto-Abstract." In addition to creating abstracts, the system can be used to condense lengthy reports. Abstracting is an important activity in scientific circles, requiring the services of technically skilled people. The Auto-Abstract system offers the possibility of relieving these people of the chore so that they may devote more of their time to scientific work. The system also promises to expedite the translation of foreign scientific articles by producing foreign language abstracts of the original paper. A person then only has to translate the abstract rather than the full paper to find out what is in it, and the translation of full articles can be limited just to those that are found to be especially important.
"Auto-Abstract."--A n el ect r oni c machine that will read a magazine article and then write an abstract of it was disclosed at the national I R E convention recently. The system, called "Auto-Abstract," will be particularly helpful in scanning and excerpting scientific papers and foreign language articles. H. P. Luhn of the IBM Corporation
Control of Fusion through Electronics.--Controlled thermonuclear fusion, in which electronic techniques play a key role, may some day provide electric power from plants producing one million or more kilowatts from only half a pound of fuel a day, a scientist of the Radio Corporation of America predicted in a talk before