Following the creation of the transistor by William Shockley, he founded a business to bring them to mass market. Shortly after, however, eight Ph.D. graduates left Shockley Semiconductor to found Fairchild Semiconductor, which became an incubator for many of the biggest names in Silicon Valley. From Intel to AMD, numerous companies got their start either directly or indirectly from Fairchild Semiconductor.
How was the transistor originally developed? Who were some of the key players at Fairchild? How did they develop and improve on the transistor? What is Moore's Law and how did it help to shape the digital age?
This event features Ross Bassett, an associate professor of history at NC State University and author of To the Digital Age: Research Labs, Start-up Companies, and the Rise of MOS Technology; and Arnold Thackray, author of Moore's Law: The Life of Gordon Moore, Silicon Valley's Quiet Revolutionary.
Photo by Ulfbastel, CC BY-SA 3.0
