What Is the Solid-State Circuits Society?

The Solid-State Circuits Society (SSCS) is a professional technical society within the IEEE that focuses on the design and realization of fabricated integrated circuits. Its scope covers transistor-level circuit design for all applications, including digital logic, analog signal processing, radio-frequency communications, power management, and memory, across all relevant semiconductor materials and interconnect technologies. The Society distinguishes itself within the IEEE by its emphasis on fabricated circuits rather than simulated models or theoretical analysis alone, making it the primary professional home for engineers engaged in the hands-on design of chips.

The Society traces its origins to the launch of the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) in 1955, which was established to provide a venue for presenting completed circuit designs. The IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits (JSSC) followed in 1966 as an archival companion to the conference. The Solid-State Circuits Council, formed in 1966, became the IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society in 1997 to give its members greater control over their technical programs and governance.

Publications

The Society's flagship publication, the IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, is the most downloaded technical journal on IEEE Xplore and covers transistor-level circuit design with particular emphasis on integration and fabrication aspects. The JSSC is complemented by the IEEE Solid-State Circuits Letters for rapid communications, the IEEE Open Journal of the Solid-State Circuits Society for open-access publication, the IEEE Solid-State Circuits Magazine for educational and industry-oriented content, and the IEEE Journal on Exploratory Solid-State Computational Devices and Circuits for research at the boundary of new device concepts and circuit design. Together these publications serve researchers ranging from graduate students entering the field to senior engineers at semiconductor companies. Details of each title's scope and submission guidelines are maintained through the SSCS Resource Center.

Conferences

The Society sponsors and co-sponsors approximately ten major technical conferences each year. The ISSCC, held annually in San Francisco, is the world's premier venue for transistor-level circuit demonstrations and draws several thousand attendees from industry and academia. The Custom Integrated Circuits Conference (CICC), established in the 1980s, addresses application-specific integrated circuits and emerging design methodologies. The Asian Solid-State Circuits Conference (A-SSCC), established in 2003, serves the research communities of East and Southeast Asia. The Society also co-sponsors the VLSI Technology and Circuits Symposium with the IEEE Electron Devices Society, which jointly addresses process technology and the circuits it enables. The ISSCC IEEE SSCS information page describes the historical relationship between the conference and the Society's development.

Membership and Community Programs

SSCS membership exceeds 9,000 engineers and researchers worldwide and provides access to the Society's publications, conference proceedings, webinar archive, and Distinguished Lecturer Program, which places recognized experts at chapter events globally. The Society operates specific outreach programs including Women in Circuits, which supports the participation and career development of women engineers in the integrated circuits field, and a Young Professionals mentoring initiative connecting students and early-career members with experienced industry practitioners. Student design contests affiliated with SSCS conferences give undergraduate and graduate teams direct exposure to the demands of circuit design under realistic specifications and tapeout deadlines.

Applications

The Solid-State Circuits Society addresses research and engineering across a range of application domains, including:

• Wireless and wireline communications integrated circuits
• Processors and memory systems for computing and artificial intelligence workloads
• Biomedical and implantable sensing circuits
• Power management and energy harvesting systems
• Automotive and industrial control electronics