The Integrated Circuit Celebrates it's 50th Birthday
Date :
13 /
09 /
2008
Author :
Robert Broomhead - VK3KRB
On the 12th of September the integrated circuit celebrated it's 50th Birthday.
The first working integrated circuit, was demonstrated on September 12, 1958 by Jack Kilby at Texas Instruments.
It was constructed on a a glass slide onto which was glued a strip of germanium and contained a transistor and some other components. Kilby realised that the components for an integrated circuit could be made from the same semiconducting material (originally germanium and more recently silicon) and could be created in situ to form a complete circuit.
His rough device, measuring seven 16ths of an inch (11.5 millimetres) by one 16th of an inch, revolutionised electronics, and the world.
Watch the video below to hear the full story.
The microchip, the invention that changed the world.
