All semiconductor manufacturers must trace their roots directly, or indirectly, to the
invention of the transistor in Bell Labs in 1947. Bell Labs was the research arm
of AT&T. In tracing the genealogy of the most well know chip firms we must
start here.
Because AT&T was under anti-trust scrutiny when the transistor came to
be, AT&T was unable to leverage the market power of the invention which it
had created. There were three major events that came to shape the coming
semiconductor industry. First, AT&T licensed the manufacture of transistors
to several companies. Second, William
Shockley left AT&T to start Shockley Semiconductor. And third, Gordon Teal, a physical
chemist, left to join Texas Instruments.
Licensing the Manufacture of Transistors
Whether to grow interest
in transistors or shed some of the government's anti-trust attention, AT&T
held symposium to demonstrate the transistor. For a mere $25,000 ($180,000 in
today's dollars) companies were offered a license to manufacture transistors. Among the
23 who signed up
were some names very recognizable to chip collectors: GE, General Instruments, General Transistor, IBM, Motorola,
RCA, Raytheon, Texas Instruments, etc. These companies were quick to
capitalize and improve upon the transistor.
William Shockley
Despite the
controversy over this contribution to the invention of the transistor, Shockley was the one who
created a ripple that shook the semiconductor industry. It was not directly
Shockley's doing, but in creating Shockley Semiconductor, in 1956, he brought together a
highly talented and motivated team. However, Shockley's management style was very controlling and created a tension-filled
environment. Eight employees of Shockley Semiconductor, he labeled the
"Traitorous Eight", left Shockley. They joined with Sheridan
Fairchild's company, Fairchild Camera and Instruments, to create a subsidiary,
Fairchild Semiconductor, to pursue new technology directions. The eight
employees were: Julius Blank, Victor Grinich, Jean Hoerni, Gene Kleiner, Jay Last, Gordon Moore, Robert Noyce, and Sheldon Roberts.
Gordon
Teal
Gordon Teal was a physical chemist at AT&T before the invention
of the transistor. Teal's contribution was to create a process for developing
high purity Germanium crystals. Teal Left AT&T and joined a small company
called Texas Instruments, in 1952, where he created the first silicon transistor.
AT&T never developed a large commercial market for it's transistors.
Largely its transistors, and later chips, were for internal use in its
communication networks. Transistors and chips developed by AT&T's
manufacturing arm, Western Electric, are rare and highly sought after.
