The Story of Integrated Circuit

Isaac Asimov is reported to have described the invention of the integrated circuit (IC) as 'the most important moment since human emerged as a life form'. Although it sounds exaggerated (when IC is compared with sliced bread :) ), 95% of last year's worldwide semiconductor revenue (~$460 billion) was from ICs. The concept of an IC as in its present form was considered technologically not feasible by Bell Labs (where transistor was invented and home to 6 other Nobel prizes in Physics). Circuit designers saw it as a threat to their livelihood and resisted its use when it was introduced. In this talk, I plan to cover its history from the early days of Solid State Physics to 1970s when the Valley of heart's delight (Santa Clara valley) was renamed as Silicon Valley.