Semiconductors are to the information age what engines are to the industrial age. Chips are the steam engine, the internal combustion engine, and the fractional horsepower engine rolled up into one. The Chip History Center is dedicated to preserving that history for future generations.

Semiconductor History Exhibits

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The invention of the IC, an  ...
23 Jan 1958

The History of the invention of the Integrated Circuit. Why it wasn't so predict ...

The History of the invention of the Integrated Circuit. Why it wasn't so predictable. Corporate culture played no small part in influencing how a small west coast start-up named Fairchild and a company that mad ...See more
The Transistor and the Birth ...
30 Jun 1955

The Invention of the Transistor and the Birth of the Information Age. Michael Ri ...

The Invention of the Transistor and the Birth of the Information Age. Michael Riordan, co-author of Crystal Fire, discusses how it came to be. ... See more
Moore’s Law GDP Value in t ...
13 Feb 2015

How the Moore’s Law raises income in relationship to the economies of the Unit ...

How the Moore’s Law raises income in relationship to the economies of the United States and the World. ... See more
Reflect & Imagine 20 Years o ...

In 2004, ASML turned 20. This book was originally published to give employees an ...

In 2004, ASML turned 20. This book was originally published to give employees an insight into the history of ASML and a vision of what the future was likely to bring. ... See more
Ion Implantation - Developme ...

Ion implanters directly inject dopant atoms into semiconductor wafers. A gas con ...

Ion implanters directly inject dopant atoms into semiconductor wafers. A gas containing atoms or molecules of the desired dopant 'species' is first ionized in an ion source. The ions are then extracted from the ...See more
Process Diagnostics - Develo ...

Process diagnostic equipment is critical to semiconductor manufacture. Though th ...

Process diagnostic equipment is critical to semiconductor manufacture. Though this equipment is not used to directly manufacture devices, it serves to verify consistent and in-control manufacturing processes. ... See more
Process Diagnostics - Develo ...

Process diagnostic equipment is critical to semiconductor manufacture. Though th ...

Process diagnostic equipment is critical to semiconductor manufacture. Though this equipment is not used to directly manufacture devices, it serves to verify consistent and in-control manufacturing processes. ... See more
Packaging Equipment - Develo ...

The early nineties, brought a renaissance to packaging due to a demand for more ...

The early nineties, brought a renaissance to packaging due to a demand for more I/0, smaller sizes, higher power, faster speed and control of thermal properties. These demands drove the need for more sophisti­c ...See more
Other Equipment - Developmen ...

Section 4.8 covers that equipment which does not fit in the other wafer fabricat ...

Section 4.8 covers that equipment which does not fit in the other wafer fabrication equipment categories. VLSI Research now includes two new segments under the Other Equipment classification. These segments are ...See more
Microlithography & Mask Maki ...

There are two essential applications for semiconductor lithography equipment. Th ...

There are two essential applications for semiconductor lithography equipment. They are lumped together here under the name 'microlithography and mask making'. The two segments consist of mask-making equipment a ...See more
Material Handling Systems -  ...

Material handling equipment serves as a physical, mechanical and electronic inte ...

Material handling equipment serves as a physical, mechanical and electronic interface between test equipment and the device under test (DUT). It consists of three major subsegments commonly referred to as wafer ...See more
Introduction to Wafer Fabric ...

Wafer fabrication equipment consists of all those types of equipment used in mak ...

Wafer fabrication equipment consists of all those types of equipment used in making and processing raw wafers in forming the finished chips-whether they be discretes or integrated circuits. This segment also in ...See more
Introduction to Questor Syst ...

Questor systems consist of those types of equipment used in the design, verifica ...

Questor systems consist of those types of equipment used in the design, verification, handling, inspection and test of integrated circuits. This equipment, although critical in assuring device design or design ...See more
Introduction to Assembly Equ ...

Assembly equipment consists of those types of equipment used to sep­arate the co ...

Assembly equipment consists of those types of equipment used to sep­arate the completed wafer into its individual dice and to assemble each die into its own package. The assembly equipment market comprises roug ...See more
Industry Overview - 1988 Edi ...

The sweeping revolution brought about by integrated circuits has caused change n ...

The sweeping revolution brought about by integrated circuits has caused change not only in electronics, but also in the very act of manufacturing the integrated circuit itself. Process equipment, assembly equip ...See more
Etching & Cleaning - Develop ...

Dry processing methods are chemical pro­cesses that use a plasma to drive the re ...

Dry processing methods are chemical pro­cesses that use a plasma to drive the reac­tion. Dry etching is the major segment of dry processing. Today, virtually all etching processes are dry processes. Typically, ...See more
Equipment Suppliers - 1990 E ...

This section examines the vendors who supply semiconductor manufacturing equip­m ...

This section examines the vendors who supply semiconductor manufacturing equip­ment. There are approximately 534 of them. The top five are shown below in Figure 2.0.0-1. In 1989, these five com­panies held a 26 ...See more
Semiconductor Dicing Equipme ...

Dicing equipment is used to cut apart individual die on a wafer. Typically, a di ...

Dicing equipment is used to cut apart individual die on a wafer. Typically, a dicing saw will cut along the wafer in an unused section between dice that is called the 'street'. · Such streets are typically thre ...See more
Semiconductor Deposition

Lithography has long been regarded as the queen of wafer fabrication in the driv ...

Lithography has long been regarded as the queen of wafer fabrication in the drive towards submicron geometries. But, in recent years problems with depth-of-focus and materials have limited lithography's ability ...See more
Semiconductor Diffusion & Ox ...

There are three market segments of the diffusion/oxidation equipment industry. T ...

There are three market segments of the diffusion/oxidation equipment industry. They are diffusion, high pressure oxidation and rapid thermal processing, as depicted in Figure 4.4.0-1. ... See more
Semiconductor Bonding & Insp ...

Bonding and inspection has historically been overlooked by upper management in s ...

Bonding and inspection has historically been overlooked by upper management in semi­conductor companies. Their attention has been drawn by the enormous capital re­quirements of wafer fabrication. However, this ...See more
Semiconductor ATE

Automatic Test Systems (ATS) encompass a broad range of equipment-in size and in ...

Automatic Test Systems (ATS) encompass a broad range of equipment-in size and in function as well as in price. It includes all equipment that is used to electrically verify a device's functionality. VLSI Resear ...See more
SRC 25th Anniversary
01 Jun 2007

The history and accomplishments of the Semiconductor Research Corporation

The history and accomplishments of the Semiconductor Research Corporation ... See more
Copper Interconnect – How  ...
15 Jun 1998

The transition from aluminum to copper wiring in semiconductor process technolog ...

The transition from aluminum to copper wiring in semiconductor process technology is discussed in this interview with Anantha Sethuraman, with particular emphasis on the inspection technology and the role marke ...See more
International Standards and  ...
15 Jun 1990

A conversation with Robert N. Noyce and Karel Urbanek

A conversation with Robert N. Noyce and Karel Urbanek ... See more

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