History of Semiconductor Engineering: An Evidence-First Account

This revised and updated second edition provides a unique and comprehensive history of early microelectronics in the 1960s. Notable revisions include expanded coverage of research at Bell Laboratories, Shockley Laboratory, RCA, and Fairchild Semiconductor. The extensive new content addresses the development of the first planar integrated circuit, MOS and CMOS technology, and nonvolatile memory cells.

Historical accounts of successful laboratories and businesses often consist primarily of reminiscences by their directors and eminent people. Such recollections are frequently inaccurate, and when they have to be tested against the facts, they fail. This richly illustrated book, with some never-before-published images, is based only on verifiable documents and authorized oral interviews.

This book provides young scientists and engineers working in the microelectronics field with a description of where and how the microelectronics era began. It is an essential resource for anyone seeking to understand the complexities of industrial research and the role of time in shaping political realities.