Robert Noyce, in full Robert Norton Noyce, (born December 12, 1927, Burlington, Iowa, U.S.—died June 3, 1990, Austin, Texas), American engineer and coinventor of the built-in circuit, a system of interconnected transistors on a single silicon microchip.
In 1939 the Noyce household moved to Grinnell, Iowa, the place the daddy had accepted a place as a Congregational minister and the place the son started to reveal the traits of an inventor and tinkerer. Noyce majored in physics at Grinnell College (B.A., 1949) and earned a doctorate in strong state physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT; Ph.D., 1953), for a dissertation associated to the know-how he discovered most fascinating, the transistor.
Developed at Bell Laboratories in 1947, the transistor had figured in Noyce’s creativeness since he noticed an early one in a university physics class. In 1956, whereas working for Philco Corporation, Noyce met William Shockley, one of many transistor’s Nobel Prize-winning inventors. Shockley was recruiting researchers for Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory, an organization that he had began in Palo Alto, California, to provide high-speed transistors. Noyce jumped on the alternative, renting a home in Palo Alto even earlier than his official job interview.
By early 1957, nevertheless, engineers on the new firm had rebelled and tried to drive Shockley out of his administration place, arguing that his poor administration delayed manufacturing and adversely affected morale. Noyce and 7 colleagues, amongst them Gordon Moore, resigned after failing to take away Shockley. With Noyce as their chief, the group—labeled the “traitorous eight” by Shockley—efficiently negotiated with the Fairchild Camera and Instrument Company to kind a brand new firm, Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation, situated in Santa Clara.
In 1958 Jean Hoerni, one other Fairchild Semiconductor founder, engineered a course of to position a layer of silicon oxide on prime of transistors, sealing out dust, mud, and different contaminants. For Noyce, Hoerni’s course of made a elementary innovation attainable. At that point, Fairchild produced transistors and different components on giant silicon wafers, lower the elements out of the wafer, and later related particular person elements with wires. However, because the variety of connections elevated, it grew to become progressively tougher to solder in ever smaller areas. Noyce realized that chopping the wafer aside was pointless; as a substitute, he may manufacture a complete circuit—full with transistors, resistors, and different components—on a single silicon wafer, the built-in circuit (IC). In this sense, Noyce and coinventor Jack Kilby, who was working at Texas Instruments Incorporated, thought alongside comparable traces. They each noticed the significance of the wafer, and every of their firms obtained patents on numerous points of IC design and manufacture. But Noyce noticed additional. Noyce noticed that the answer to the issue of connecting the elements was to evaporate traces of conductive metallic (the “wires”) immediately onto the silicon wafer’s floor, a method often called the planar course of. Kilby and Noyce share credit score for independently inventing the built-in circuit. However, after a lot litigation, Fairchild Semiconductor was granted the patent on the planar course of, the fundamental approach utilized by subsequent producers. The patent made each Noyce and Fairchild rich.
In 1968 Noyce and Moore left Fairchild Semiconductor to begin their very own firm. Soon they have been joined by Andrew Grove, one other Fairchild colleague, and fashioned Intel Corporation. In 1971 Intel launched the primary microprocessor, which mixed on a single silicon chip the circuitry for each info storage and info processing. Intel rapidly grew to become the main producer of microprocessor chips.
Noyce served as president of Intel till 1975 after which as chairman of the board of administrators earlier than stepping down in 1978 to change into chairman of the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).
The SIA was fashioned to handle the rising financial considerations of the American semiconductor {industry}, particularly with respect to overseas competitors. Noyce performed an essential function in establishing Sematech, a joint industry-government consortium fashioned with typically conflicting targets—analysis to maintain the American semiconductor {industry} on the forefront and efforts to take care of a home semiconductor manufacturing capability. Noyce grew to become Sematech Inc.’s first president in 1988.
Noyce held 16 patents and was awarded the National Medal of Science in 1979. A lifelong swimmer (and former Iowa state diving champion), Noyce died of a coronary heart assault following a morning swim in 1990.