Editing Fairchild Semiconductor (section)

===1960s===
{{more citations needed section|date=January 2017}}
[[File:1957(Figure_9)-Gate_oxide_transistor_by_Frosch_and_Derrick.png|thumb|310x310px|1957, Diagram of one of the SiO2 transistor devices made by Frosch and Derick<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Frosch |first1=C. J. |last2=Derick |first2=L |date=1957 |title=Surface Protection and Selective Masking during Diffusion in Silicon |url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1149/1.2428650 |journal=Journal of the Electrochemical Society |language=en |volume=104 |issue=9 |pages=547 |doi=10.1149/1.2428650}}</ref>]]
Fairchild's Noyce and Texas Instrument's Kilby had independently invented the [[integrated circuit]] (IC) based on bipolar technology. In 1960, Noyce invented the planar integrated circuit. The industry preferred Fairchild's invention over Texas Instruments' because the transistors in planar ICs were interconnected by a thin film deposit, whereas Texas Instruments' invention required fine wires to connect the individual circuits. Noyce's invention was enabled by the [[planar process]] developed by Jean Hoerni.<ref>
{{cite book |title=Making Silicon Valley: Innovation and the Growth of High Tech, 1930-1970 |author=Christophe Lécuyer |publisher=MIT Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-262-12281-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/makingsiliconval00chri/page/214 214]–252 |url=https://archive.org/details/makingsiliconval00chri |url-access=registration |quote=fairchild planar Making Silicon Valley.}}</ref> In turn, Hoerni's planar process was inspired by the [[Passivation (chemistry)#Silicon|surface passivation]] method developed at [[Bell Labs]] by [[Carl Frosch]] and Lincoln Derick in 1955<ref>{{Cite patent|number=US2802760A|title=Oxidation of semiconductive surfaces for controlled diffusion|gdate=1957-08-13|invent1=Lincoln|invent2=Frosch|inventor1-first=Derick|inventor2-first=Carl J.|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US2802760A}}</ref><ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last1=Huff |first1=Howard |last2=Riordan |first2=Michael |date=2007-09-01 |title=Frosch and Derick: Fifty Years Later (Foreword) |url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1149/2.F02073IF |journal=The Electrochemical Society Interface |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=29 |doi=10.1149/2.F02073IF |issn=1064-8208}}</ref> and 1957.<ref name="Lojek120">{{cite book |last1=Lojek |first1=Bo |title=History of Semiconductor Engineering |date=2007 |publisher=[[Springer Science & Business Media]] |isbn=9783540342588 |page=120}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Frosch |first1=C. J. |last2=Derick |first2=L |date=1957 |title=Surface Protection and Selective Masking during Diffusion in Silicon |url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1149/1.2428650 |journal=Journal of the Electrochemical Society |language=en |volume=104 |issue=9 |pages=547 |doi=10.1149/1.2428650}}</ref>

At Bell Labs, the importance of Frosch and Derick technique and transistors was immediately realized. Results of their work circulated around Bell Labs in the form of BTL memos before being published in 1957. At [[Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory|Shockley Semiconductor]], Shockley had circulated the preprint of their article in December 1956 to all his senior staff, including [[Jean Hoerni]],<ref name="Moskowitz2">{{cite book |last1=Moskowitz |first1=Sanford L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2STRDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA168 |title=Advanced Materials Innovation: Managing Global Technology in the 21st century |date=2016 |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |isbn=978-0-470-50892-3 |page=168}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Christophe Lécuyer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LaZpUpkG70QC&pg=PA62 |title=Makers of the Microchip: A Documentary History of Fairchild Semiconductor |author2=David C. Brook |author3=Jay Last |date=2010 |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=978-0-262-01424-3 |pages=62–63}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Claeys |first1=Cor L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bu22JNYbE5MC&pg=PA27 |title=ULSI Process Integration III: Proceedings of the International Symposium |date=2003 |publisher=[[The Electrochemical Society]] |isbn=978-1-56677-376-8 |pages=27–30}}</ref><ref name="Lojek1204">{{cite book |last1=Lojek |first1=Bo |title=History of Semiconductor Engineering |date=2007 |publisher=[[Springer Science & Business Media]] |isbn=9783540342588 |page=120}}</ref> who would later invent the [[planar process]] in 1959 while at Fairchild Semiconductor.<ref>{{patent|US|3025589|Hoerni, J. A.: "Method of Manufacturing Semiconductor Devices” filed May 1, 1959}}</ref><ref>{{patent|US|3064167|Hoerni, J. A.: "Semiconductor device" filed May 15, 1960}}</ref>

In 1948, Bardeen and Brattain patented at Bell Labs an insulated-gate transistor (IGFET) with an inversion layer, this concept forms the basis of CMOS technology today.<ref>{{cite book |author=Howard R. Duff |title=AIP Conference Proceedings |date=2001 |volume=550 |pages=3–32 |chapter=John Bardeen and transistor physics |doi=10.1063/1.1354371 |doi-access=free}}</ref> In 1963, [[Chih-Tang Sah]] and [[Frank Wanlass]] built [[CMOS]] MOSFET logic.<ref name="computerhistory1963">{{cite web |title=1963: Complementary MOS Circuit Configuration is Invented |url=https://www.computerhistory.org/siliconengine/complementary-mos-circuit-configuration-is-invented/ |access-date=6 July 2019 |website=[[Computer History Museum]]}}</ref><ref name="sah">{{cite conference |last1=Sah |first1=Chih-Tang |author1-link=Chih-Tang Sah |last2=Wanlass |first2=Frank |author2-link=Frank Wanlass |date=1963 |title=Nanowatt logic using field-effect metal-oxide semiconductor triodes |conference=1963 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference. Digest of Technical Papers |volume=VI |pages=32–33 |doi=10.1109/ISSCC.1963.1157450}}</ref>

In 1963, Fairchild hired [[Bob Widlar|Robert Widlar]] to design analog operational amplifiers using Fairchild's process. Since Fairchild's processes were optimized for digital circuits, Widlar collaborated with process engineer Dave Talbert. The collaboration resulted in two revolutionary products&nbsp;– μA702 and μA709.<ref name="Harrison2005">{{cite book |author=Linden T. Harrison |title=Current Sources and Voltage References: A Design Reference for Electronics Engineers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=03JmxpE39N4C&pg=PA3 |date=August 22, 2005 |publisher=Newnes |isbn=978-0-08-045555-6 |pages=3–}}</ref> Hence, Fairchild dominated the analog integrated circuit market, having introduced the first IC [[operational amplifier]]s, or "op-amps", [[Bob Widlar]]'s μA702 (in 1964) and μA709. In 1968, Fairchild introduced David Fullagar's μA741, which became the most popular IC op amp of all time.<ref name="GargDixit2008">{{cite book |author1=Rakesh Kumar Garg |author2=Ashish Dixit |author3=Pavan Yadav |title=Basic Electronics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9SOdnsHA2IYC&pg=PA331 |date=January 1, 2008 |publisher=Firewall Media |isbn=978-81-318-0302-8 |pages=331–}}</ref>

By 1965, Fairchild's process improvements had brought low-cost manufacturing to the semiconductor industry&nbsp;– making Fairchild nearly the only profitable semiconductor manufacturer in the United States. Fairchild dominated the market in DTL, op-amps and mainframe computer custom circuits. In 1965, Fairchild opened a semiconductor assembly plant on the Navajo Nation in Shiprock, New Mexico.<ref name="Comp History Museum">{{cite web |last1=Nakamura |first1=Lisa |title=Indigenous Circuits |url=http://www.computerhistory.org/atchm/indigenous-circuits/ |website=Computer History Museum |access-date=January 21, 2016 |date=January 2, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Ken |last=Shirriff |title=The Pentium as a Navajo weaving |date=September 2024 |url=http://www.righto.com/2024/08/pentium-navajo-fairchild-shiprock.html |quote=Fairchild and Shiprock: Marilou Schultz is currently creating another weaving based on an integrated circuit, shown below. Although this chip, the Fairchild 9040, is much more obscure than the Pentium, it has important historical symbolism, as it was built by Navajo workers at a plant on Navajo land.}}</ref> At its peak, the plant employed over a thousand Navajos, the majority of whom were women. In ''The Shiprock Dedication Commemorative Brochure'' released by the Fairchild company, the Diné (Navajo) women circuit makers were celebrated as "culture workers who produced circuits as part of the 'reproductive' labor of expressing Navajo culture, rather than merely for wages." This claim was based on the opinion that circuits of the electronic chips had a mere resemblance with the complex geometric patterns on the Navajo rugs. Paul Driscoll, the Shiprock plant manager, spoke of the "untapped wealth of natural characteristics of the Navajo...the ''inherent flexibility'' and dexterity of the Indians." Although highly successful during its operation, the plant was closed in 1975.<ref name="American Quarterly">{{cite journal |last1=Nakamura |first1=Lisa |title=Indigenous Circuits:Navajo Women and the Racialization of Early Electronic Manufacture |journal=American Quarterly |date=December 2014 |volume=66 |issue=4 |pages=919–941 |url=https://lnakamur.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/indigenous-circuits-nakamura-aq.pdf |access-date=January 21, 2016 |doi=10.1353/aq.2014.0070 |s2cid=143975328}}</ref> While the Fairchild corporation claims the Diné women were chosen to work in the Shiprock plant due to their "'nimble fingers'" as previously noted, the women of the Shiprock reservation were actually chosen as the workforce due to a lack of labor rights asserted by the women in addition to "cheap, plentiful workers and tax benefits".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nakamura |first=Lisa |date=December 15, 2014 |title=Indigenous Circuits: Navajo Women and the Racialization of Early Electronic Manufacture |journal=American Quarterly |volume=66 |issue=4 |pages=919–941 |doi=10.1353/aq.2014.0070 |s2cid=143975328 |issn=1080-6490 |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/563663}}</ref>

Fairchild had not done well in the digital integrated circuit market. Their first line of ICs was the "micrologic" [[resistor–transistor logic]] (RTL) line which was used in the [[Apollo Guidance Computer]]. It had the advantage of being extremely simple&nbsp;– each inverter consisted of just one transistor and two resistors. The logic family had many drawbacks that had made it marginal for commercial purposes, and not well suited for military applications: the logic could only tolerate about 100 millivolts of [[Noise (electronics)|noise]]&nbsp;– far too low for comfort. It was awhile before Fairchild relied on more robust designs, such as [[diode–transistor logic]] (DTL) which had much better noise margins.

Sales due to Fairchild semiconductor division had doubled each year and by the mid-1960s comprised two-thirds of total sales of the parent company. In 1966, Fairchild's sales were second to those of [[Texas Instruments]], followed in third place by [[Motorola]]. Noyce was rewarded with the position of corporate vice-president and hence became the ''de facto'' head of the semiconductor division.

However, internal trouble at Fairchild began to surface with a drop in earnings in 1967. There was increasing competition from newer start-ups. The semiconductor division, situated in Mountain View and Palo Alto, California, was actually managed by executives from [[Syosset, New York]], who visited the California sites once a year, even though the semiconductor division earned most of the profits of the company. Fairchild's president at that time, John Carter, had used all the profits to fund acquisitions of unprofitable ventures.

Noyce's position on Fairchild's executive staff was consistently compromised by Sherman Fairchild's faction. [[Charles E. Sporck]] was Noyce's operations manager. Sporck was reputed to run the tightest operation in the world. Sporck, [[Pierre Lamond]] and most managers had grown upset and disillusioned with corporate focus on unprofitable ventures at the expense of the semiconductor division. Executives at the semiconductor division were allotted substantially fewer stock options compared to other divisions. In March 1967, Sporck was hired away by Peter J. Sprague to [[National Semiconductor]]. Sporck brought with him four other Fairchild personnel.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/forbesgreatest00youn |url-access=registration |quote=Forbes Greatest Technology Stories fairchild. |title=Greatest Technology Stories |author=Jeffrey S. Young |page=[https://archive.org/details/forbesgreatest00youn/page/127 127] |year=1998 |isbn=0-471-24374-4 |publisher=John Wiley and Sons}}</ref> Actually, Lamond had previously assembled a team of Fairchild managers in preparation to defect to [[Plessey]], a British company. Lamond had recruited Sporck to be his own boss. When negotiations with Plessey broke down over stock options, Lamond and Sporck succumbed to Widlar's and Talbert's (who were already employed at National Semiconductor) suggestion that they look to National Semiconductor.<ref>Making Silicon Valley: Innovation and the Growth of High Tech, 1930-1970, by Christophe Lécuyer, published by MIT Press, 2006. {{ISBN|0-262-12281-2}}, {{ISBN|978-0-262-12281-8}}; page 260</ref> Widlar and Talbert had earlier left Fairchild to join Molectro, which was later acquired by National Semiconductor.<ref>National Semiconductor#Founding</ref>

In the fall of 1967, Fairchild suffered a loss for the first time since 1958 and announced write-offs of $4 million due to excess capacity, which contributed to a total loss of $7.6 million. Profits had sunk to $0.50 a share, compared to $3 a share the previous year, while the value of the stock dropped in half. In October 1967, the board ordered Carter to sell off all of Fairchild's unprofitable ventures. Carter responded to the order by resigning abruptly.

Furthermore, Fairchild's DTL technology was being overtaken by Texas Instruments's faster [[Transistor–transistor logic|TTL]] (transistor–transistor logic).

While Noyce was considered the natural successor to Carter, the board decided not to promote him. Sherman Fairchild led the board to choose Richard Hodgson. Within a few months Hodgson was replaced by a management committee led by Noyce, while Sherman Fairchild looked for a new CEO other than Noyce. In response, Noyce discreetly planned a new company with [[Gordon Moore]], the head of R&D. They left Fairchild to found [[Intel]] in 1968 and were soon joined by [[Andrew Grove]] and [[Leslie L. Vadász]], who took with them the revolutionary [[Silicon gate|MOS Silicon Gate Technology]] (SGT), recently created in the Fairchild R&D Laboratory by [[Federico Faggin]] who also designed the Fairchild 3708, the world’s first commercial MOS integrated circuit using SGT. Fairchild MOS Division was slow in understanding the potential of the SGT which promised not only faster, more reliable, and denser circuits, but also new device types that could enlarge the field of solid state electronics&nbsp;– for example, CCDs for image sensors, dynamic RAMs, and non-volatile memory devices such as EPROM and flash memories. Intel took advantage of the SGT for its memory development. Federico Faggin, frustrated, left Fairchild to join Intel in 1970 and design the first microprocessors using SGT. Among the investors of Intel were Hodgson and five of the founding members of Fairchild.

Sherman Fairchild hired [[Lester Hogan]], who was the head of [[Motorola]] semiconductor division. Hogan proceeded to hire another hundred managers from Motorola to entirely displace the management of Fairchild.

The loss of these iconic executives, coupled with Hogan's displacement of Fairchild managers demoralized Fairchild and prompted the entire exodus of employees to found new companies.

Many of the original founders, otherwise known as the "fairchildren", had left Fairchild in the 1960s to form companies that grew to prominence in the 1970s. Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore were among the last of the original founders to leave, at which point the brain-drain of talents that had fueled the growth of the company was complete.

A Fairchild advertisement of the time showed a [[collage]] of the [[logo]]s of [[Silicon Valley]] with the annotation "We started it all".
It was later, in 1971, [[Don Hoefler]] popularizated the name "Silicon Valley USA" in ''[[Electronic News]]''.<ref name="DH-71">{{cite web |last1=Laws |first1=David |title=Who named Silicon Valley? |url=http://www.computerhistory.org/atchm/who-named-silicon-valley/ |website=Computer History Museum |date=January 7, 2015 |access-date=October 16, 2018}}</ref> He notes he did not invent the name. See also Gregory Gromov<ref name="NetValley">[http://www.netvalley.com/silicon_valley/Legal_Bridge_From_El_Dorado_to_Silicon_Valley.html A Legal Bridge Spanning 100 Years: From the Gold Mines of El Dorado to the "Golden" Startups of Silicon Valley] by Gregory Gromov</ref> and ''[[TechCrunch]]'' 2014 update<ref name=Morris-2014>{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2014/07/26/the-first-trillion-dollar-startup/ |title=The First Trillion-Dollar Startup |work=[[Tech Crunch]] |author=Rhett Morris |date=July 26, 2014 |access-date=February 22, 2019}}</ref> of Hoefler's article.<ref name="DH-71" />