When asked by a non-engineer\u00a0what I’m doing for a living, I’m usually struggling to describe my work. I usually recind to asking them if they know Netbooks and that I worked on the CPU (“the brain”)\u00a0for these.<\/p>\n
But when an inquisitive mind is dissatisfied with this answer I usually tell them that I develop chips that work with elements just like relais. And on an abstracted level that’s true. It’s just that the layers of abstraction involved are many:<\/p>\n
1) Transistor level (the switching element ->\u00a0the relais)<\/p>\n
2) Gate level (logic functions like AND\/OR\/NOT)<\/p>\n
3) single bit storage elements like flip-flops as well as multiplexers<\/p>\n
4) multilevel logic gate combinations, forming ADDERs, ALUs, SHIFTERS as well as memory blocks and register banks<\/p>\n
5) memory subsystem blocks, like caches, translation tables<\/p>\n
6) processor input\/output cells<\/p>\n
7) integrated systems with peripheries on chip (think network adaptor, external memory controller, graphics adapter)<\/p>\n
8 ) PCB boards that mount these chips and connect them to external power<\/p>\n
9) the final system: like netbooks, PCs, cell phones – the stuff you touch and use<\/p>\n
I spent most of my time at work on items 2)- 5). While the\u00a0chips we produce, consist of hundreds of million of transistors, on a basic level the still work\u00a0with switches – not more and not less.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When asked by a non-engineer\u00a0what I’m doing for a living, I’m usually struggling to describe my work. I usually recind to asking them if they know Netbooks and that I worked on the CPU (“the brain”)\u00a0for these. But when an inquisitive mind is dissatisfied with this answer I usually tell them that I develop chips … Continue reading Level of abstraction in electronics<\/span>