Robert Noyce - Semiconductor Pioneer

Robert Noyce is credited with Jack Kilby for the invention of the integrated circuit and co-founded both Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel.

In this 1984 lecture, Robert Noyce reviews the development of the integrated circuit from its infancy in the 1950s to the early-1980s as well as its impact on technology and society. Noyce discusses the innovations in transistors that lead to the creation of the integrated circuit. Next, Robert Noyce talks about the technical challenges of building increasingly more compact and more powerful semiconductors as well as the overall effects of Moore's Law. Finally, Noyce looks ahead to the future of semiconductor development that was uncertain at the time of this lecture, but is now in our past.

Robert N. Noyce was born in Burlington, Iowa and grew up in Grinnell, Iowa. A physics major at Grinnell College, he graduated with a PhD in physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1953. William Shockley hired him from Philco Corporation to work at Shockley Semiconductor Laboratories in 1956. With eight other employees he left to found Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation in 1957. As general manager of the Fairchild semiconductor operation and a vice president of Fairchild Camera and Instrument, he presided over a decade of innovation in semiconductor technology including co-invention of the integrated circuit. In 1968 Noyce co-founded Intel Corporation with Gordon Moore where he served as President until 1975 when he became Chairman of the Board. He spent much of his later career working to improve the international competitiveness of American industry, including founding and later becoming chairman of the Semiconductor Industry Association. In 1988 Noyce took charge of Sematech, a consortium of semiconductor manufacturers working together and with the United States government. He held 16 patents on semiconductor methods, devices, and structures and numerous awards and honors including the National Medal of Science.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Computer
• History
• Museum
• Noyce
• Intel
• Fairchild
• Semiconductor
• Integrated
• Circuit
• Micorprocessor
• MIT

[steinrammtill]

Thumbs up who got here from Google Doodle :)

[Josemedeiros]

When Robert Noyce was at Intel, Intel was a very different company. Intel treated employees as a family and one could actually have a long career and retire. Unfortunately the bean counters and greed by wall street has turned a former great American company into a company that no longer rewards or encourages team work, but expects employees to compete against each other for job survival.

Jose F. Medeiros

Former IT staff Intel IOS

San Jose, California

[steinrammtill]

@Stefandurrr Fair enough :)

[Stefandurrr]

@steinrammtill I don't give thumbs ups to people who ask for thumbs ups.

[xphobus]

Sorry to say but semiconductor is also in its end . The Moore's law is completely busted. Multiple cores processors are useless.

Remember how much faster was pentium 4 than pentium 3?

Look now Core iX vs core 2 duo.

We now need a chip working on 3 digits 0 1 2

[Soleronut]

Happy Birthday

[sultanhorny]

H. B. Day!

[gandalfwiz20007]

google brought me here and i just want to say: respect Robert Noyce and RIP

[steinrammtill]

@MrSniperscope me too :)

[MrSniperscope]

i got here from google :P

[Ulterior1980]

RIP