Moore’s Law: The Number of Transistors on an Integrated Circuit

Chapter 3 explains Moore’s law—the observation that transistor counts on integrated circuits double roughly every two years, driving exponential growth in computing power. Starting with the invention of the transistor (1947) and integrated circuits (1958–1959), the chapter highlights Intel’s 4004 microprocessor (1971) as a milestone. Moore’s prediction has held for decades thanks to innovations in lithography (UV to EUV), transistor architecture (FinFET, Gate-All-Around), materials engineering, design automation, and advanced cooling. Dennard scaling initially enabled miniaturization but broke down in the 2000s, leading to multi-core processors. Rock’s law notes fabrication costs double every four years, now exceeding $15–30 billion. Despite physical and economic limits, research into 3D chips and optical interconnects aims to prolong Moore’s Law. Falling transistor costs have fueled widespread technological progress, making Moore’s law a cornerstone of modern electronics.