Very Large-Scale Integration

What Does Very Large-Scale Integration Mean?

Very large-scale integration (VLSI) is the process of integrating or embedding hundreds of thousands of transistors on a single silicon semiconductor microchip. VLSI technology was conceived in the late 1970s when advanced level computer processor microchips were under development.

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VLSI is a successor to large-scale integration (LSI), medium-scale integration (MSI) and small-scale integration (SSI) technologies.

Techopedia Explains Very Large-Scale Integration

VLSI is one of the most widely used technologies for microchip processors, integrated circuits (IC) and component designing. It was initially designed to support hundreds of thousands of transistor gates on a microchip which, as of 2012, exceeded several billion. All of these transistors are remarkably integrated and embedded within a microchip that has shrunk over time but still has the capacity to hold enormous amounts of transistors.

The first 1 mega byte RAM was built on top of VLSI design principles and included more than one million transistors on its microchip dye.

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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…