Look Around

The transistor was born just before Christmas in 1947. John Bardeen and Walter Brattain, scientists working for William Shockley at Bell Telephone Laboratories in Murray Hill, N.J., observed that when electrical signals were applied to contacts on a germanium crystal, the output power was larger than the input. What could arguably be called the seminal invention of the 20th century came into being.

Shockley founded what would come to be called Silicon Valley, from where technologies originated that changed life on Earth far more than Edison's first practical application of electric power a century before.

But if Shockley created the solid-state vehicle, Jack Kilby gave it wings. In July 1958, most employees of Texas Instruments (Dallas) enjoyed a two-week vacation in which he, as a new employee, could not participate. In his lab, Kilby put one transistor and a few other components on a piece of germanium 7/16 x 1/16 in. glued to a glass slide, creating the first electronic circuit in which all components — active and passive — were fabricated on a single slice of semiconductor material. The development came to be called the integrated circuit, and it laid the conceptual and technical foundation for all of modern microelectronics.

As this edition of Semiconductor International was about to go to press, the news of Jack Kilby's death at 81 reached us.

Kilby opened the way for the military, commercial and industrial applications of his invention. He was also a co-inventor of the handheld calculator and worked on the generation of electricity through solar cells. Fortunately, he lived long enough for the world to recognize his contributions. He was the recipient of the National Medal of Science and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. At the ceremony at which he was awarded the Nobel Prize, he remarked, "Seeing your name alongside the likes of Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and the Wright Brothers is a very humbling experience." He spoke of efforts to solve the electronic miniaturization problem at the time he invented the IC, adding that if he had not been sufficiently lucky to have had the idea first and the necessary resources, someone else would have done it. He then reminded everyone of Robert Noyce's work at Fairchild Semiconductor: "While Robert and I followed our own paths, we worked hard together to achieve commercial acceptance for integrated circuits. If he were still living, I have no doubt we would have shared this prize."

Years ago, I had the unique opportunity of sharing a train ride with Kilby. I recognized him and, with the impudence of the young, sat next to him and blurted out my admiration. We spoke about many things during that 45-minute trip: space applications, the future of computing, the limits of technology, and telecommunications of the future. Then, as the train was nearing its destination, I took out a notepad and asked him for his autograph. He gave me a very broad, tolerant smile and wrote, "To Alex Braun. Thank you for an enjoyable ride," and signed it.

It is not often that one touches history. Even now it is hard for me to believe that that unassuming middle-aged man in the rumpled charcoal gray suit I shared a train ride with so many summers ago had such an enormous effect on all our lives and that of countless generations to come.

It is also difficult to believe he is gone.

His work, in its various permutations, has solved problems impossible to unravel before; it truly has taken us where no man has gone before to show us vistas of other worlds; it has added to our health, comfort, safety and leisure. The industry and markets that originated from his development are estimated to be worth ~$1.3 trillion, and are well on the way to becoming the planet's largest.

Kilby's hometown of Great Bend, Kan., is working to erect a statue in his honor. They should save themselves the trouble. In London's Saint Paul's Cathedral, a plaque commemorates the work of its architect, Sir Christopher Wren. It simply says, "If you seek his monument, look around."

Look around, world, look around...you'll see Jack Kilby everywhere.