1959
Noyce invents planar IC
Robert Noyce developed the planar integrated circuitA chip miniaturizing many electronic components on one semiconductor — the building block of modern electronics. at Fairchild SemiconductorA material whose conductivity can be controlled — silicon semiconductors are the basis of almost all computer chips. in 1959 — enabling mass production of monolithic silicon chips.
What it was for
Noyce's planar process let manufacturers etch and interconnect transistors on silicon wafers — the approach still used in fabs today. His IC work led directly to co-founding Intel with Gordon Moore.
People
- Robert Noyce — researcher
Why it's here
The planar IC made integrated circuitA chip miniaturizing many electronic components on one semiconductor — the building block of modern electronics.s manufacturable at scale.
Why it mattered
It established silicon monolithic chips as the industry standard.
What it solved
Kilby's hybrid approach was hard to mass-produce compared to planar silicon.
Media
ImageRobert Noyce with motherboard (1959)Intel Free Press, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Related
- Kilby demonstrates first ICSeptember 12, 1958
- Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce found IntelJuly 18, 1968