To the Digital Age: Research Labs, Start-up Companies, and the Rise of MOS Technology (Johns Hopkins Studies in the History of Technology)

The metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistor is the fundamental element of digital electronics. The tens of millions of transistors in a typical home—in personal computers, automobiles, appliances, and toys—are almost all derive from MOS transistors. To the Digital Age examines for the first time the history of this remarkable device, which overthrew the previously dominant bipolar transistor and made digital electronics ubiquitous. Combining technological with corporate history, To the Digital Age examines the breakthroughs of individual innovators as well as the research and development power (and problems) of large companies such as IBM, Intel, and Fairchild.Bassett discusses how the MOS transistor was invented but spurned at Bell Labs, and then how, in the early 1960s, spurred on by the possibilities of integrated circuits, RCA, Fairchild, and IBM all launched substantial MOS R & D programs. The development of the MOS transistor involved an industry-wide effort, and Bassett emphasizes how communication among researchers from different firms played a critical role in advancing the new technology. Bassett sheds substantial new light on the development of the integrated circuit, Moore's Law, the success of Silicon Valley start-ups as compared to vertically integrated East Coast firms, the development of the microprocessor, and IBM's multi-billion-dollar losses in the early 1990s. To the Digital Age offers a captivating account of the intricate R & D process behind a technological device that transformed modern society. Likely to Number in the tens of millions in the home of a typical American, the metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistor, a fundamental element of digital electronics, makes possible today's personal computers, automobile ignition systems, most household appliances, and even smart toys. To the Digital Age: Research Labs, Start-up Companies, and the Rise of MOS Technology for the first time explores the history of the MOS transistor, which overthrew the previously dominant bipolar transistor and made digital electronics ubiquitous. Combining technological with corporate history, To the Digital Age examines the breakthroughs of individual innovators as well as the research and development power (and problems) of companies such as IBM, Intel, and Fairchild. Bassett discusses how Bell Labs invented but spurned the MOS transistor and then how, in the early 1960s -- spurred on by the possibilities of integrated circuits -- RCA, Fairchild, and IBM all launched substantial MOS R&D programs. The development of the MOS transistor involved an industry-wide effort, and Bassett emphasizes how communication among researchers from different firms played a critical role in advancing the new technology. Bassett sheds light on the development of the integrated circuit, Moore's Law, the success of Silicon Valley start-ups (as compared to vertically integrated East Coast firms), the development of the microprocessor, and IBM's multi-billion-dollar losses in the early 1990s. To the Digital Age offers a captivating account of the intricate R&D process behind a technological device that transformed modern society. Machine Generated Contents Note: 1 How A Bad Idea Became Good (to Some) -- The Emergence Of The Mostransistor, 1945-1963 -- 2 Back From The Frontier -- Ibm Research And The Formation Of The Lsi Program, 1951-1965 -- 3 Development At Research -- The Research Phase Of Ibm's Mos Program, 1963-1967 -- 4 Mos In A Bipolar Company -- Fairchild And The Mos Transistor, 1963-1968 -- 5 It Takes An Industry -- The Mos Community -- 6 The End Of Research -- Intel And The Mostransistor, 1968-1975 -- 7 Ibm -- Mos And The Visible Hand, 1967-1975 -- 8 The Logic Of Mos -- Intel And The Microprocessor, 1968-1975 -- Conclusion/epilogue -- Appendix 1: Organizational Charts -- Appendix 2: Sources For Tables -- Notes -- Essay On Sources -- Index. Ross Knox Bassett. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 319-398) And Index. CONTENTS......Page 8 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......Page 10 Introduction......Page 16 One - How a Bad Idea Became Good (to Some)......Page 27 Two - Back from the Frontier......Page 72 Three - Development at Research......Page 94 Four - MOS in a Bipolar Company......Page 122 Five - It Takes an Industry......Page 154 Six - The End of Research......Page 182 Seven - IBM......Page 225 Eight - The Logic of MOS......Page 266 Conclusion/Epilogue......Page 297 APPENDIX 1: ORGANIZATIONAL CHARTS......Page 324 APPENDIX 2: SOURCES FOR TABLES......Page 332 NOTES......Page 334 ESSAY ON SOURCES......Page 414 INDEX......Page 428 Bassett (history, North Carolina State U.) combines corporate and technological history in his examination of the development and propagation of the metal- oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistor, the backbone of digital electronics. One of the primary questions the study addresses is how organizational leadership contributes to the ability to successfully adapt to technological change. The focus is on the operations of Fairchild Semiconductor, Intel, and IBM. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) The MOS (metal-oxide-semiconductor) transistor, the fundamental element is digital electronics, is the base technology of late-twentieth-century and early-twenty-first-century America.