April 19, 1965
Gordon Moore publishes Moore's Law
Gordon Moore published 'Cramming More Components onto Integrated CircuitA chip miniaturizing many electronic components on one semiconductor — the building block of modern electronics.s' on April 19, 1965 — projecting exponential growth in transistorA tiny semiconductor switch that can amplify or gate signals — replaced relays and enabled compact computers. density.
What it was for
Moore's observation became the industry's planning roadmap for decades — driving R&D investment in smaller, cheaper chips. It later paired with Dennard scaling to explain why computers kept getting faster and cheaper.
People
- Gordon Moore — researcher
Why it's here
Moore's LawThe observation that transistor counts on chips roughly double every two years — drove expectations for computing growth. named the exponential trend that defined the semiconductorA material whose conductivity can be controlled — silicon semiconductors are the basis of almost all computer chips. era.
Why it mattered
It coordinated industry expectations for chip progress across fabs, tools, and design.
What it solved
There was no shared forecast for how fast integrated circuitA chip miniaturizing many electronic components on one semiconductor — the building block of modern electronics.s could improve.
Media
ImageGordon MooreIntel Free Press, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Related
- Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce found IntelJuly 18, 1968