許個願吧…你想在明年看到哪些技術突破？

你最希望哪些電子工程領域的技術問題能在2010年獲得解決？耶誕節就快到了，把願望清單列出來吧！以下是由EETimes美國版編輯所提出的、七個他們最希望能在明年看到進展之技術項目，大至半導體製程、小至消費性電子裝置相關…那你呢？歡迎加入討論。

願望一：新一代微影技術

過去幾年來，半導體產業尋找下一代微影技術的工作似乎停滯不前，其中超紫外光微影(Extreme ultraviolet，EUV)看來頗具潛力，但仍距離主流市場好一段距離。在明年已排定的一些技術研討會上，EUV預料還會是焦點議題，可惜內容恐怕了無新意。

因此EETimes主跑半導體技術的編輯Mark Lapedus所提出的願望，是在2010年能看到EUV技術有所進展，或者各家業者還是放棄它另覓更好的技術吧！

不過現在看來，半導體產業可能難以承受放棄EUV的損失；畢竟在相關技術的研發上，IC廠商們已經投入了數百萬美元。EUV的支持者原本認為，該技術將可以準備好支援65奈米製程，卻根本來不及；現在業界期望在16奈米製程時代讓EUV就緒，時間點是2015年。

但仍有人質疑EUV是否能夠成為主流技術，或者至少能夠在一些特定領域派上用場？這些問題的答案到目前為止都不明朗。多年來，EUV在電力來源、光阻、零缺陷光罩(defect-free masks)等方面的問題都尚未解決，最大的一個障礙則是缺乏量測工具。

雖然Intel與Sematech等半導體製造大廠，都呼籲業界投入更多資金進行EUV檢測工具的研發，設備供應商們卻因為景氣寒冬而面臨口袋空空的窘境；包括應材(Applied)、KLA-Tencor等設備大廠，甚至已經對EUV的前景感到悲觀。

願望二：丟掉醜醜的電子裝置電源線

市面上有很多迷人的電子裝置，但討厭的是它們還是無法脫離那些充電用電源線──不但長得不好看、互不相容，而且總是糾纏在一起；更煩人的是，當你需要的時候，往往就是會找不到那些充電線到底放在哪裡。

主跑消費性電子的EETimes編輯Dylan McGrath，最大的願望就是在2010年「不插電」，他想要看到無線充電技術能夠讓所有電子裝置使用者大解放！

無線充電技術已經有多年的發展歷史，也開始準備收穫；新型智慧手機Palm Pre專用的Touchstone充電座，就是首款手機用的無線充電裝置，可惜只能讓Palm Pre獨享。另外在零售3C賣場也可以買到定價100美元以下的無線充電座，但有些裝置可能不相容。

目前市面上至少有五種不同的無線充電技術，且完全缺乏標準，因此未來可能會出現像今天的手機充電器那樣，各家廠牌、各種裝置，各有不同適用的無線充電座之情況。而包括Wireless Power Consortium、CEA等組織，都打算推動無線充電技術的標準化工作。

無線充電技術的標準化是可以預見的，但標準的百家爭鳴恐怕也難以避免；電子工程師們是否有一天能讓我們家裡的電子裝置使用標準化的無線充電座，讓來自不同廠牌的無線充電系統都能相容呢？祈禱吧！

願望三：智慧電網快點實現

對美國的電子產業界來說，智慧電網(smart grid)無疑將是2010年的一大焦點；未來包括冰箱、洗衣機等家電設備，甚至電動車，都將連上智慧電網，因此最需要的就是各種電子裝置與智慧電網之間的連結標準。

除了標準，智慧電網領域的工程師們，還得思考如何將太陽能、風力發電等在生能源也加進智慧電網的範圍中；他們得考量該如何將以上再生能源裝置在白天與刮風的日子所產生的電力，儲存至夜晚與平靜無風時使用，這將牽涉電池等其他相關技術。

無論如何，EETimes編輯Rick Merritt認為，若能在2010年看到可被廣泛採用的電力線網路統一標準，對智慧電網技術來說將是個最好的開始。

願望四：再創人類太空探險盛世

對大多數美國工程師來說，阿波羅號太空梭首次登陸月球的輝煌成就，是激勵他們投入科技領域的重要原因之一。最近美國官方也著手重新整頓相關太空探險計畫，希望能再次創造人類登月一般的科學成就、並衍生更多的技術創新。

美國太空總署(NASA)近來向工程科系學生徵求創造月球新生態系統的技術提案，包括環境控制系統、發電裝置，甚至製造可呼吸空氣的設備；此外也有科學家提出了捨棄載人太空航行、改採遠端遙控方式進行火星等其他太陽系行星探險任務的想法。

無論如何，EETimes編輯George Leopold認為，全球的工程師社群應該共同合作探索太陽系；因為人類登上了月球，我們才能回頭看到珍貴又需要保護的地球。藉由對宇宙其他星球的探險，將可大幅開拓人類的視野。

願望五：更簡單易用的電子裝置介面

Everyone in the electronics industry pays lip service to the importance of the user interface, but on most consumer devices the UI looks more like an afterthought.

I can't tell you how often I've been stumped by incomprehensible messages that pop up on a device's screen. I assume the device wants me to do something for it, but there aren't enough clues to know what that might be. So I sit there, looking into abyss, and the abyss looking back, abysmally.

This issue is growing worse as more devices from TVs to washing machines connect to the Net. I fear the result will be more messages on more screens, offering me more clues to more choices for what I can do to make life better for all those interconnected devices that seem to have become my new dependents.

Systems are smaller and more powerful, but not always easier to use

As a technology reporter, I understand the UIs on most consumer devices aren't as elegant as that of Apple's iPhone. Not every consumer device comes with enough processing power or memory to do what an iPhone can do. Not every manufacturer has access to font or rendering technology, essential to create the clean and sophisticated look many consumers have come to expect. As fragmented as the embedded system market is, there is no single, one-size-fits-all simple UI a manufacturer can deploy for every product.

Help may be on its way. Monotype Imaging, a provider of text rendering technology with access to more than 10,000 typefaces, recently announced its acquisition of Planetweb, a developer of embedded UI software. Together, they will offer UIs that can be ported to different devices, including those with limited computing power and memory.

Such collaborations could make interfaces are more readable, but not necessarily more intelligent. I live in fear of hearing my devices, one by one, look me in the eye and say, "I'm sorry, Dave. I can't do that for you." (Junko Yoshida)

6,7. Better keyboards, displays

Users need something better than keyboards and displays to interact with the burgeoning world of mobile devices.

The Blackberry has given us "all thumbs computing" as the interface for mobile e-mail. The iPhone threw out the mini keyboard to give us the touch-face display that lets a user issue accidental commands when his cheek hits the screen as he takes a call.

Now Synaptics and others are using the embedded accelerometers in cellphones as a way to issue commands by tilting devices. We cringe to think about the convolutions of accidental commands this may create.

Voice interfaces could solve such problems, notes Editor Nic Mokhoff, especially for the growing population of older users who have to squint to read the characters on their mobile screens. But engineers need to improve today's voice interface to make them more useful. "Make all GPS systems adhere to a single voice recognition algorithm that gives answers to location, traffic and destination queries via user-friendly speaker recognition," Mokhoff said.

Anyone who has made routine use of 411 or Google's free telephone information service (at 800.466.4411) knows voice interfaces are still buggy despite being widely deployed. Can you say, "start over?"

We still need displays, but we long for the foldable display technologies EE Times editors such as Mokhoff have been writing about for more than a decade. The iPhone sports a nice looking mobile display, but the return to the large candy bar form factor has made this device impossible to carry with any grace for a generation raised on blue jeans. (Rick Merritt)

資料來源: eetTaiwan 2009/12/23
參考原文: EETimes
原文網址: http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=222002748&pgno=1