The Invention of the Integrated Circuit and the Birth of Silicon Valley

Abstract

The invention of the integrated circuit allowed many transistors to be combined on a single chip, and it was another revolution in computing. The integrated circuit placed the previously separated transistors, resistors, capacitors and wiring circuitry onto a single chip made of silicon or germanium. The integrated circuit shrunk the size and cost of making electronics, and it had a major influence on the design of later computers leading to faster and more powerful machines. The germanium-based integrated circuit was invented by Jack Kilby at Texas Instruments, and Robert Noyce of Fairchild Semiconductor did subsequent work on silicon-based integrated circuits. Moore’s law on the exponential growth of transistor density on an integrated circuit is discussed, as well as its relevance to the computing power of electronic devices.