To the Digital Age
eBook - ePub

To the Digital Age

Research Labs, Start-up Companies, and the Rise of MOS Technology

  1. English
  2. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

To the Digital Age

Research Labs, Start-up Companies, and the Rise of MOS Technology

About this book

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.

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Yes, you can access To the Digital Age by Ross Knox Bassett in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Technology & Engineering & Information Technology. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. Acknowledgments
  7. Introduction
  8. 1 How a Bad Idea Became Good (to Some)
  9. 2 Back from the Frontier
  10. 3 Development at Research
  11. 4 MOS in a Bipolar Company
  12. 5 It Takes an Industry
  13. 6 The End of Research
  14. 7 IBM
  15. 8 The Logic of MOS
  16. Conclusion/Epilogue
  17. Appendix 1: Organizational Charts
  18. Appendix 2: Sources For Tables
  19. Notes
  20. Essay on Sources
  21. Index