Invention of the integrated circuit
- Date
- 1958–1959
- Category
- Science, technology & invention
- Region
- North America (United States)
- Era
- Contemporary
- Significance
In 1958–1959 the integrated circuit — multiple electronic components fabricated together on a single semiconductor chip — was independently conceived by Jack Kilby at Texas Instruments and Robert Noyce at Fairchild Semiconductor.
Kilby demonstrated a working prototype combining a transistor, capacitor and resistors on a slab of germanium in September 1958 and filed a patent in February 1959. Noyce, in 1959, devised a silicon-based 'planar' design with components and their interconnections integrated on the chip, eliminating exposed wiring and proving far more suitable for mass production. Both are credited as co-inventors, and Kilby received a share of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics. By packing ever more transistors onto a single chip, the integrated circuit made electronics dramatically smaller, cheaper, faster and more reliable. It enabled the microprocessor, the personal computer, the spread of digital technology and the trend later described as Moore's law. The integrated circuit is a foundational technology of the modern information economy and underlies nearly all contemporary electronic devices.
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Empires active in 1958–1959
- Soviet Union1922 CE – 1991 CE
- French Colonial Empire (Second)1830 CE – 1962 CE
- British Empire1583 CE – 1997 CE
- Spanish Empire1492 CE – 1976 CE
- Portuguese Empire1415 CE – 1999 CE
- Solomonic dynasty1270 CE – 1974 CE
Related science, technology & invention events
- Invention of the transistor at Bell LabsDecember 1947
- Intel Releases the 4004, the First Commercial Microprocessor1971
- The Apple II Launches the Personal Computer Era1977
- First ARPANET message, precursor of the Internet29 October 1969
- Ray Tomlinson Sends Networked Email and Chooses the @ Symbol1971
- IBM Launches the Personal Computer1981
Further reading
The wider story
A Little History of Science
Warm, jargon-free tour of discovery from Babylonian stargazers to the genome.
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