History of Semiconductor Engineering

An Evidence-First Account
2. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-3-662-73920-4
Verlag: Springer

Buch, Englisch, 446 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 235 mm

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.

Reviews of the First Edition

"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 this out."

 "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."

 "The technical history of the semiconductor industry rivals the 1849 California Gold Rush as a period filled with excitement and opportunity. Although I cannot firsthand 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 heyday of the semiconductor industry.

For educators and technologists, you will find this collection of data, facts, and opinions, collected and observed firsthand by the author, fascinating! It is a tough read for others due to the writing experience of the author and its technical focus."

 "Bo Lojek gets it right!  There are few industries as dynamic as semiconductors and the history of the semiconductor industry is still unfolding. This book gives the history of the people, places and the technology that resulted in today's semiconductor industry. I particularly like the inclusion of many technical pieces in the book."

This book contains an enormous amount of important material, much of it obtained by intense individual research by the author. The author's viewpoint leads him to different stories and credits from those generally accepted by the media. This feature may make the book more interesting reading for some. However, its real value is as a remarkably detailed account of accomplishments that constitute semiconductor microelectronics." 

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Lojek, Bo

Fachgebiete

• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Wirtschaftssektoren & Branchen Medien-, Informations und Kommunikationswirtschaft Informationstechnik, IT-Industrie
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften: Allgemeines Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften, Formalen Wissenschaften & Technik
• Naturwissenschaften Physik Thermodynamik Festkörperphysik, Kondensierte Materie
• Technische Wissenschaften Elektronik | Nachrichtentechnik Elektronik Elektronische Baugruppen, Elektronische Materialien

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Prologue.- Research Organization: Bell Telephone Laboratories.- Grown Junction and Diffused Transistors.- Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory.- Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation.- Subsidiary of Fairchild Camera and Instrument Company.- Driving the Company out of Business.- Integrated Circuits Outside of Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation.- Linear Integrated Circuits: Pre-Widlar Era Prior to 1963-. Robert Widlar – the Genius, the Legend, the Bohemian.- National Semiconductor – A New Type of Semiconductor Company.- MOS Transistors.- E 2PROM and Atmel Corporation.- Epilogue.

Über Autor(innen)

Dr. Bo Lojek started his professional career in the semiconductor industry in 1964 as a rubylith draftsman. He designed or co-designed 25 bipolar and MOS manufacturing processes and holds over 100 patents. He is the author of History of Semiconductor Engineering (Springer 2017) and William Shockley: The Will to Think (Springer 2021). He is one of the last scientific individuals destined to die out in the age of teamwork and wireless collectivization.