Most accounts of the microelectronics revolution have emphasized the role of military patronage and procurement in the shaping of silicon technology and the consolidation of the semiconductor industry. Little attention has been devoted, however, to the silicon industry's shift from military to commercial markets in the early and mid‐1960s. Drawing on an examination of Fairchild Semiconductor, the firm that initiated this shift, this essay argues that the silicon industry's expansion into non‐military markets was indissociable from deep changes in manufacturing, organizational structures as well as component and system technologies. Special attention is devoted to the ways in which Fairchild created a user base for its products in the computer and consumer electronics industries by hiring engineers from these sectors and encouraging them to design components as well as applications for the firm's potential customers. This article also examines how Fairchild introduced mass production techniques fr...

Silicon for industry: Component design, mass production, and the move to commercial markets at Fairchild semiconductor, 1960–1967

A survey of the typical construction methods and style concepts that were used during the past seven decades provides an index of progress. From rather haphazard constructions that prevailed during the first quarter of this century, the industry soon reached a period when mass production of radio equipment was possible, whereupon the role of the product engineer, who takes the concepts and ideas of the scientists and devises suitable designs that are effective, reliable, and producible, and of the production engineer, who handles the problems attending the manufacturing of these designs, became important. In this review, the design techniques of several eras will be noted, particularly those that influenced the utility of the equipment. The many developments leading up to new processes, the ever-changing objectives, closer tolerances and increasing complexity taking place during the second quarter of the century, lead us into the space age with the emergence of the transistor, missiles, computers and automation. Printed-wiring and other assembly techniques are described, from the simple manual operations to the programmed automatic insertion of component parts. The roles of dip soldering and wirewrap, flexible cabling, and standardization are recounted. The progress of miniaturization is reviewed, from using conventional parts through various methods up to the micromodule and other arrangements with different form factors and integration methods. Finally, more sophisticated microminiaturization approaches?thin films, and fabrication of solid-state circuits by forming, "growing," and electron-microscope techniques. Automatic testing, dynamics, cooling, and audio-visual aids are touched upon.

A. R. Gray

Papers

The Influence of Product Design on Radio Progress