History of Semiconductor Engineering (Google eBook)

Bo Lojek

Springer, 2006 - Technology & Engineering - 387 pages

When basic researchers started working on semiconductors during the late nineteen thirties and on integrated circuits at the end of the nineteen fifties, they did not know that their work would change the lives of future generations. Very few people at that time recognized the significance of, perhaps, the most important invention of the century. Historians have assigned the invention of integrated circuits to Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce. In this book, the author argues that the group of inventors was much larger. This richly illustrated account is a personal recollection of the development of integrated circuits and personalities such as Russell Ohl, Karl Lark-Horovitz, William Shockley, Carl Frosch, Lincoln Derick, Calvin Fuller, Kurt Lehovec. Jean Hoerni, Sheldon Roberts, Jay Last, Isy Haas, Bob Norman, Dave Allison, Jim Nall, Tom Longo, Bob Widlar, Dave Talbert, Frank Wanlass, and Federico Faggin. Here is the first comprehensive behind-the-scenes account of the history of the integrated circuit, the microelectronics industry, and the people closely involved in the development of the transistor and the integrated circuit. 'Your book is going to make a major contribution to semiconductor history. You and I agree that, while the world loves a hero, semiconductor progress depended on the efforts and ideas of a large number of people, and that moving forward depended on contributors going back a few decades in some cases. Also, as is the case with most inventions, a number of people with access to the same pool of common knowledge were working independently at the same time to put it all together and to make the necessary extensions to the existing technology and who realized that the time was right for society to accept the new concepts. Your diligent research points all of this out.' Dr. Jay Last, Former Shockley Laboratories employee, co-founder of Fairchild Semiconductor, co-founder of Amelco Semiconductor, and manager of Fairchild sgroup which designed and produced the world first planar integrated circuit. 'Bo Lojek presents a remarkable document of the most important and significant technical development of our times. He describes in astounding detail the engineering efforts of modern microelectronics. He concentrates on the history of silicon semiconductor devices. California s 'Silicon Valley' is the center of attention, together with its ancestry of transistor invention at Bell Laboratories. He has collected a wealth of illustrative documentation, gives incisive insight into the lives of the main actors and shows the often tragic fates of the engineers and businessmen. He does not hide his firm belief in the individual engineer and warns of the retarding influence of present-day political correctness.' Dr. Hans J. Queisser, Former Shockley Semiconductor scientist and retired director of the Max-Planck-Institute for Solids, Stuttgart, Germany. 'The technical history of the semiconductor history rivals the 1849 California Gold Rush as a period filled with excitement and opportunity. Although I cannot first hand validate its complete accuracy, I enthusiastically encourage you to read the collected facts, opinions, and views of an author who was actually part of this amazing period, viewing it as a successful practicing Engineer during this 'gold rush' - like hey-day of the semiconductor industry. For educators and technologists you will find this collection of data, facts, and opinions, collected and observed first hand by the author, fascinating! It is a tough read for others due to the writing experience of the author and its technical focus.' John F. Gifford, Former Fairchild Semiconductor Marketing Manager of Linear Integrated Circuits, co-founder of Advanced Micro Devices, and President and Chief Executive Officer of Maxim Integrated Products. 'Bo Lojek gets it right! There are few industries as dynamic as semiconductors and the

What people are saying

User Review -

Excellent research! Great book.

User Review -

This book certainly has a "unique account" - unique but untrue, if the part concerning me is an example. Or if the omission of major advances in linear IC's made by Precision Monolithics (which I cofounded) is an example. I'm Marv Rudin, and did not "come from Pacific Semiconductor" as the book says - never worked for that company. Also, the account is mostly false regarding why and how Dave Fullagar was transferred to the Fairchild production facility to complete development of the maximum selling op amp ever, the Fairchild ua741. Although Dave reported to him, Garth Wilson wasn't involved in it as stated by the author. I was manager of linear IC R&D and Garth was my circuit design supervisor. Dave came directly to me, showed me his circuit, described its superiority to the ua709 and LM101, and informed me that Production had a linear process that included capacitors (which he needed in order to make an IC out of the compensated amplifier circuit he had bread boarded in our R&D lab). I had hired him because I recognized his outstanding potential, and I told him I hated to lose him but getting his amplifier into production to beat Widlar and National Semi's 101 amplifier (which lacked an internal compensation capacitor), he needed to transfer to the Production facility to use their process, which wasn't available in our R&D labs. He said he was an R&D engineer and refused to transfer out of R&D and into Production. I said if he would take his new amplifier through production the production engineering process its introduction would quickly dominate the market and he'd be famous and could write his ticket as far as where he would work in future (this ultimately came true). So I went to Gordon Moore, who headed Fairchild R&D, and asked him to help me to persuade Dave to transfer to produce the circuit even if it took a raise to do it. I stuck my neck out and said if done it would certainly take the op amp lead back from the National LM101. Gordon agreed. I then took Dave to his office, where he offered him a raise (5 or 10%--I don' remember the exact amount) to leave our Palo Alto R&D facility for the Fairchild Mt. View production facility, and promised to allow him to return to R&D if he so chose. Dave agreed and the rest is history. This is the truth and totally different from author Lojek's "unique" account. If one doesn't know the facts, his account is very likely to be unique. This review is by Marv Rudin [e-mail] 

Contents

• Research Organization Bell Telephone Laboratories: 11
• Grown Junction and Diffused Transistors: 41
• Shockley Semiconductor Laboratories: 67
• Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation Subsidiary of Fairchild Camera and Instrument Company: 103
• Driving the Company Out of Business: 155
• Integrated Circuits outside Fairchild Semiconductor: 175
• Linear Integrated Circuits PreWidlar Era Prior to 1963: 228
• Robert J Widlar The Genius The Legend The Bohemian: 247
• National Semiconductor A New Type of Semiconductor Company: 291
• The MOS Transistor: 317
• Epilogue: 375
• Name Index: 380

Popular passages

Page 2 - With the advent of the transistor and the work in semiconductors generally, it seems now possible to envisage electronic equipment in a solid block with no connecting wires. The block may consist of layers of insulating, conducting, rectifying and amplifying materials, the electrical functions being connected directly by cutting out areas of the various layers".‎

Page 11 - Our species is the only creative species, and it has only one creative instrument, the individual mind and spirit of a man. Nothing was ever created by two men. There are no good collaborations, whether in music, in art, in poetry, in mathematics, in philosophy. Once the miracle of creation has taken place, the group can build and extend it, but the group never invents anything. The preciousness lies in the lonely mind of a man.‎

Page 10 - The innovator makes enemies of all those who prospered under the old order, and only lukewarm support is forthcoming from those who would prosper under the new.‎

Page ix - Development is systematic use of the knowledge and understanding gained from research, directed toward the production of useful materials, devices, systems, or methods, including design and development of prototypes and processes.‎

Page 1 - Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past/‎

Page ix - The objective of basic research is to gain more comprehensive knowledge or understanding of the subject under study, without specific applications in mind. Basic research is defined as research that advances scientific knowledge but does not have specific immediate commercial objectives, although it may be in fields of present or potential commercial interest.‎

Bibliographic information

• Title: History of Semiconductor Engineering
• Author: Bo Lojek
• Publisher: Springer, 2006
• ISBN: 3540342583, 9783540342588
• Length: 387 pages
• Subjects: Technology & Engineering / Electronics / Semiconductors