The Future of Electrical Circuits From Analog to Quantum

It's fascinating to think about it occasionally when I talk to a friend in Seoul in the United States, even if the other person is in another country. I wondered how the signal would be transmitted without being broken in many of these processes, as the conversation was not interrupted even though the base station was passing through in the middle and the signal was moving far away. I looked it up and found that such communication can be much more stable because it does not transmit real sound signals as they are, but rather digitally changed and transmitted. And analog and digital circuits played a role in this change, respectively. So, I wanted to organize how circuits have evolved from analog to digital and in what direction they can go in the future.

Analog circuits handle information that changes continuously, such as sound volume and light intensity. Therefore, analogs are still needed in areas that accept real signals, such as sensors and microphones. However, analogs are sensitive to their surroundings, so the results can be shaken when noise is mixed or conditions change. Digital circuits are said to process information by cutting it off like 0 and 1. Even if the signal is slightly shaky, this method can be processed as the same value if it exceeds the standard, making it stable and strong for calculation and storage. As a result, the digital method was the centerpiece of devices like computers and smartphones. In actual devices, analog accepts signals and digital processes signals, which are often shared.

The faster and stronger digital circuits become, the greater the power and heat problems. This is due to the fact that the more calculations you make, the more electricity you use, and the more heat you generate in the process. It is said that it is now more important to make it work stably while using less electricity rather than just increasing performance. Furthermore, as circuits become smaller and more complex, they can become more sensitive to small errors. It was impressive that we are approaching a situation where efficiency and stability must be taken care of together, not an era where we just have to make it faster.

In the future, it will become more important for circuits to divide work more efficiently and reduce power waste rather than just compete for speed. Rather than doing everything a circuit can do, dividing up roles and focusing on what is needed can increase efficiency. And since real signals are continuous, analogs will not disappear and the direction of more natural integration with digital is likely to grow. New methods such as quantum circuits are also being discussed, but I felt that they were closer to showing potential than technology to enter everyday devices because there are still many research stages.

As I summarized this topic, I learned that the reason why the call is relatively clear even if it is far away is not just "because the network is good." This is because analog circuits received signals like voices in reality and processed them digitally to make them stronger against noise or shaking. In the end, I felt that the development of the circuit was not only going faster, but a process that continued to balance how stably it handled and transmitted unstable reality signals.

I'm interested in circuit design, so I want to study electrical engineering in the future, not just design that increases performance, but design that uses less electricity and makes it work stably while producing less heat. In particular, it was interesting to design the part where analog and digital meet well, and one day, I want to design an experience that creates "an experience that does not break well and works well" in communication or devices that people take for granted.