Jack Kilby

Jack Kilby (1923–2005) was an American electrical engineer who co-invented the integrated circuit and received the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Integrated circuit: An electronic circuit whose components and connections are formed together on a semiconductor substrate. Kilby’s 1958 prototype demonstrated that multiple circuit components could be made as one unit.
Germanium: A chemical element used as a semiconductor in early transistors and integrated circuits. Kilby built his first working integrated-circuit demonstration using a piece of germanium.
Robert Noyce: An American physicist and entrepreneur who independently developed a practical monolithic integrated-circuit concept. Noyce’s silicon-based proposal addressed manufacturing and interconnection limits in Kilby’s approach.
Interconnection problem: The difficulty of connecting many separate electronic components reliably as circuits grow more complex. This wiring bottleneck motivated Kilby’s effort to place circuit elements together.
Semiconductor: A material whose electrical conductivity lies between that of a conductor and an insulator and can be controlled. Kilby used semiconductor materials to make the components of his first integrated circuit.
Resistor: An electrical component that opposes current and produces a voltage drop. Kilby’s prototype incorporated resistive elements alongside its transistor and capacitor.
Jean Hoerni: A Swiss-American physicist who developed the planar process for fabricating semiconductor devices. Hoerni’s process helped make Noyce’s monolithic integrated-circuit design practical to manufacture.
Texas Instruments integrated circuit prototype: A 1958 working demonstration by Jack Kilby of an electronic circuit made from semiconductor material. The prototype provided tangible evidence for Kilby’s integrated-circuit idea.
Transistor: An electronic device that controls current or voltage and can amplify signals or act as a switch. Transistors were among the components Kilby combined in his integrated-circuit prototype.
Capacitor: An electrical component that stores energy in an electric field between conductive surfaces. A capacitor was another circuit element included in Kilby’s 1958 demonstration.

Linked from 8 pages