45. Blind leading blind: Julius Blank, interview by Charlie Sporck, 15 July 1994.
46. Would have taken six months: Julius Blank, interview by Charlie Sporck.
47. Shockley had a marvelous ability: Noyce, 1982 Reid interview. Electrons like cars in parking lot: William Shockley, Electrons and Holes in Semiconductors (New York: D. Van Nostrand: 1950).
48. Shockley’s car and favorite restaurant: Gordon Moore, interview by author.
49. Champagne celebration: “Oh, I certainly remember the day Bill got the Nobel Prize! I never [before had] adjourned to start drinking champagne at 9:00 in the morning!” Gordon Moore, quoted in “Transistorized!” www.pbs.org/transistor/background1/events/nobelprize.html
50. Bardeen dropped: “Transistorized!” www.pbs.org/transistor/background1/events/nobelprize.html
51. Papers given by Bardeen, Brattain, and Shockley: Nobel Prize Web site: www.nobel.se/physics/laureates/1956
52. Invited him to join: Riordan and Hoddeson, Crystal Fire.
53. About time: Vic Grinich, interview by Charlie Sporck.
54. That will teach you: Jay Last, interview by Charlie Sporck. Salary figure: “Payroll Projected to July 1, 1956,” from unmarked hardback book in Shockley papers, accession 95–153, B2. Am I really needed: Noyce, “Innovation: The Fruit of Success,” Technology Review.
55. Only one light bulb: Harry Sello, interview by author.
56. Reduce almost to tears: Harry Sello, interview by author. Ritual humiliation: Bob White, interview by author. White taught with Shockley at Stanford.
57. Big psychiatric institute and quoting Eliot: Jay Last, interview by Charlie Sporck. Thumbtack in the door: every Shockley employee interviewed gave a consistent account of this affair.
58. Last confiding in Noyce: Jay Last, interview by author; Jay Last, interview by Charlie Sporck.
59. Data-processing group: Beckman Instruments Annual Report 1956.
60. Ran for benefit of his personality: Shockley Employee A, interview by author.
61. Four-layer diode: “Inventor Cites Use in Computer,” Electronic News, 24 Feb. 1958.
62. Appeal of four-layer diode: Fairchild Founder A, interview by author. For more on the difficulties of manufacturing the four-layer diode, see Riordan and Hoddeson, Crystal Fire, 267.
63. Focus on transistor: Gordon Moore, interview by author; Noyce, “Innovation: the Fruit of Success”; Fairchild Founder A recalls Noyce as the first member of the group to see the great potential in the transistor. Fairchild Founder A, interview by author. See also Riordan and Hoddeson, Crystal Fire, 250. Plenty of market: “Dr. Moore, Tape 2, 6/8/94.” Noyce’s work with data systems operation: Noyce to Bill Gunning [Data and Control Systems group], 17 April 1957, folder labeled “BECKMAN -Scien Instr Div”; Taylor C. Fletcher [head of the Data and Control Systems Group] to Shockley, 2 Nov. 1956, File labeled “BECKMAN-Fullerton 55–56,” Shockley Papers, 90–117, Box 14, SSC.
64. Offer to IBM: Shockley to Bishop, 2 May 1957, Shockley papers, 90–117, Box 14.
65. Mesa transistors: K. J. Dean and G. White, “The Semiconductor Story: Search for the Best Transistor” (Part 2 of a four-part series), Wireless World, Feb. 1973, 67. This series of papers is a technical-but-readable introduction to semiconductor research and manufacturing.
66. Bob you could talk to: R. Victor Jones, interview by author.
67. Certainly they knew: patent in question is Shockley and Noyce, #2,967,985, filed 11 April 1957, granted 10 Jan. 1961. Though it is unclear how he did it, Shockley later had ownership of this patent assigned entirely to himself as an individual—a highly unusual situation, since most ownership assignments are to corporations.
68. Certain inadequacies: Beckman Instruments Annual Report, 1957.
69. May 1957 meeting: “Minutes of Interdivisional Research and Engineering Conference,” folder marked “Beckman—1957,” 16 May 1957, Shockley Papers 90–117, Box 14, SSC.
70. Description of the meetings among Shockley, Beckman, and the scientists: Gordon Moore, interview by author, and Riordan and Hoddeson, Crystal Fire, 247–251.
71. Doing awful things, Vic Jones’s departure: R. Victor Jones, interview by author. Shockley was disappointed by Jones’s decision but nonetheless gave him a glowing recommendation—a recommendation Shockley later turned to his own advantage by reading it aloud at an employee meeting. Some drastic action: Bob to “Everybody,” 28 May 1957, courtesy Polly Noyce. Look, goddammit: Jay Last, interview by author.
72. Voice quaking with anxiety: Jay Last, interview by Charlie Sporck.
73. First meeting with Beckman: Somehow Shockley got enough information about this meeting to sketch out a diagram showing the seating arrangements of Beckman and the group. The sketch shows Beckman at one end of the table, with Noyce immediately to his right, followed by Kleiner, Hoerni, Grinich, Roberts, Moore, Last, and Knapic. Empire Notebook, Shockley Papers, Accession #95–153. All Noyce quotes in this paragraph: Noyce to Everyone, 28 May 1957, courtesy Polly Noyce.
74. Shockley’s reaction: Harry Sello, interview by author; James F. Gibbons, interview by author; Riordan and Hoddeson, Crystal Fire, 249. Drill sergeant analogy: James F. Gibbons, interview by author.
75. All quotes in discussion between Noyce and Shockley: Entry dated 3 June 1957, Empire Notebook, Shockley Papers, Accession #95–153.
76. Analyze staff from afar: Noyce to Everyone, 28 May 1957. Noyce’s divided loyalties: Several of the scientists thought that Noyce’s relationship with Shockley was “cool” during the period of greatest tension. During this period, however, Shockley’s notebook is full of entries like these: “Call to Noyce,” “Noyce has only one suggestion,” “Talk with Noyce.” He recorded few conversations with any other lab employee, with the exception of Smoot Horsley.
77. New organizational structure: Entry labeled 6 Jun, Empire Notebook. Horsley, Knapic, and “S” [probably Sah] would report to Noyce. Noyce lacked push: “Impressions from AOB, call Thurs PM 6 Jun,” Shockley Papers, Accession #95–153, SSC.
78. Managing committee: the other two members were Dean Knapic (production head), and E. L. Peterson (administration).
79. Beckman’s decision to support Shockley: For more on this, see Riordan and Hoddeson, Crystal Fire, 250; Gordon Moore, interview by author.
80. A very good man: Bob and Betty Noyce to Family, 11 July 1957, courtesy Polly Noyce.
81. More confident of eventual success: Bob and Betty Noyce to Everybody, 28 May 1957.
82. Atmosphere turned ugly: “To say the least,” administrative head Peterson wrote to Shockley, “the reaction was not favorable” E. L. Peterson to Shockley, dated August 7, 1957, Shockley Papers, Accession #95-153, SSC.
83. Back where they were: Letter to M. C. Hanafin from E. I. Peterson. Subject is Payroll Detail, Senior Staff, as of July 31, 1957, Shockley Papers, Accession #95–153. Grossly overestimated our power: Gordon Moore, “William Shockley,” http://www.time.com/time/time100/scientist/profile/Shockley.html
84. Last had another offer: Jay Last, interview by author; Jay Last, interview by Charlie Sporck.
85. He had joined Shockley: Noyce’s handwritten corrections to a draft of the article later published as Perry, “Famous First Jobs.” Son of a minister: Fairchild Founder B, interview by author. Arthur Rock made similar comments about Noyce’s sense of loyalty. Arthur Rock, interview by author, 25 Feb. 1999.
86. The initial product: Prospectus sent to Hayden, Stone, courtesy Jay Last.
87. Horizontal ties are strong: Prospectus sent to Hayden, Stone, courtesy Jay Last. Concerns: Julius Blank to author, 17 June 2003.
88. Strongest selling point: Arthur Rock, interview by author.
89. Visit the seven: Arthur Rock, interview by author; “Done Deals” excerpt by Arthur Rock, reprinted in Upside Magazine, Nov. 2000.
90. Pretty good guys, need $1 million: Arthur Rock, interview by author.
91. Attachment to Bay Area: Kleiner’s original letter to Hayden, Stone, an
d Co. explicitly refers to the group’s “attachment to this lower San Francisco peninsula area.” Gordon Moore has jokingly called the desire not to move “the entrepreneurial spirit that drove the formation of Fairchild Semiconductor.” Gordon Moore interview by Alan Chen.
92. Not going to give away the store: Fairchild Founder A, interview by Christophe Lécuyer.
93. Chickening out: Gordon Moore, interview by Alan Chen, IA. Noyce’s concerns: John W. Wilson, The New Venturers: Inside the High-Stakes World of Venture Capital, (Menlo Park, Calif.: Addison-Wesley, 1985): 32.
94. Two primary reasons: Betty and Bob Noyce to Family, 11 July 1957.
95. Nice to have you here: Julius Blank, interview by author.
96. Some kind of leader: Arthur Rock, interview by author. Big talker: Fairchild Founder A, interview by author.
97. Dollar bill ceremony: Fairchild Founder A, interview by author.
Chapter 4: Breakaway
1. Companies approached by group: List reprinted in “Founding Documents.”
2. Noyce soaked his trees: Betty and Gordon Moore, interview by Evan Ramstad, 18 May 1997. Courtesy Evan Ramstad.
3. Transistor sales: Statistics are for Oct. 1957. “1958: Everybody’s Doin’ It,” and “The Transistor Emerges,” EN 25th Anniversary Issue, 25 Jan. 1982, Section 2, pages 6, 23. Alfred Cook and Bob Shephard, “Heavy Commercial Push Top Feature at Wescon,” Electronic News, 26 Aug. 1957, 1. Dozen new transistor firms: Richard Levin, “The Semiconductor Industry,” in Government and Technical Progress: A Cross-Industry Analysis, ed. Richard R. Nelson (New York, 1982): 29.
4. Every company turned them down: Gordon Moore, interview by Alan Chen, IA. Ethos of conformity: Arthur Rock, interview by author.
5. Wore a fresh pretty girl: Multifarious Sherman Fairchild, Fortune, May 1960, 170; “Sherman Fairchild, Man of Few Miscalculations,” Electronic News, 13 Sept. 1965, 8. Fairchild had studied at Cordon Bleu and thanks to a stint in the music-publishing business, he was on genial terms with the likes of George Gershwin and Jerome Kearn, whom he may have entertained at the French chateau he built for himself on Long Island. Yet at other times, Fairchild could be surprisingly thrifty. In his interview with the author, Richard Hodgson said that after the starlet- and celebrity-filled weekend parties at his Long Island estate, Fairchild would have his cook drive the leftovers to the Manhattan townhouse.
6. Acquisitions were easiest entrée: Fairchild Camera and Instrument Board of Directors meeting minutes (henceforth FCI board minutes) for 21 Nov. 1957. Owner has requested anonymity.
7. 1957 uses of semiconductors: Ken Stein, “Experience in Field is Opening Markets,” Electronic News, 17 Feb. 1958, 1. Had considered six months before: Fairchild Camera and Instrument Annual Report 1957. Fairchild primed and eager: Noyce quoted in “Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation: Company Profile,” Solid State Journal, Sept./Oct. 1960, 1.
8. Get the company into electronics: Richard Hodgson, interview by author. Just right personality: Fairchild Founder B, interview by author.
9. Never going to be a problem: Richard Hodgson, interview by author. Arnold Beckman later apparently rued his largesse. In 1962, after Shockley Transistor had been sold for underperformance, and the fortunes of Fairchild Semiconductor continued to soar, he said of “labor pirating”: “Employer and employee alike should re-examine the moral precepts involved to determine what constitutes good ethical behavior. … If voluntary action should prove inadequate to maintain fair business practices, then it may be necessary to amplify legal controls.” Robert R. Dockson, “A Comprehensive Study of the Electronics Industry,” Western Electronic News, Nov. 1962, 17.
10. Selling the group: Bob Noyce to Mother and Dad, 4 Sept. 1957, courtesy Polly Noyce.
11. Formal negotiations: The negotiations were technically between the group of eight and Fairchild Controls, a subsidiary of Camera and Instrument. Rock and Coyle ensured: “Scientists meet with Coyle, Hodgkins [sic], and Somerwine,” courtesy Jay Last. This document outlines an offer made by Fairchild and immediately rejected by Coyle.
12. Works every time: This story is from Julius Blank, interview by author.
13. All quotes in this paragraph: Bob Noyce to Mother and Dad, 4 Sept. 1957, courtesy Polly Noyce.
14. Moore saddened: Gordon Moore, interview by author.
15. PhD production line: Fairchild Founder A, interview by author.
16. No real effect: “8 Leave Shockley to Form Coast Semiconductor Firm,” Electronic News, 20 Oct. 1957. German scientists used to hierarchy: James F. Gibbons, interview by author.
17. Shockley hired an informant: L. N. Duryea to Erickson, Wright, Hanafin, and Steinmeyer, Shockley papers, Accession # 95–153, SSC. Patents filed by Shockley after Noyce left: Noyce patent 2,869,055, filed 20 Sept. 1957, issued 13 Jan. 1959; Noyce patent 3,010,033, filed 2 Jan. 1958, issued 21 Nov. 1961; Noyce patent 3,111,590, filed 5 June 1958, issued 19 Nov. 1963; Noyce patent 3,098,160, filed 24 Feb. 1958, issued 26 Dec. 1961.
18. Moses of Silicon Valley: F. Seitz quoted in Riordan and Hoddeson, Crystal Fire, 275.
19. Beckman feels: Summary of Remarks, A. O. Beckman, 22 Sept. 1957, courtesy Jay Last.
20. Betty in tears and Mrs. Shockley’s last visit: Polly Noyce, interview by author.
21. Hello, Bob, How could you do this: Malone, Big Score, 80.
22. 300 shares held in reserve: Minutes of the First Meeting of Board of Directors of Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation (henceforth FSC board minutes), 16 Oct. 1957, Anon. Voting trust: There were seven voting trustees—Noyce and Kleiner; Carter, Hodgson, and two other Camera and Instrument senior managers; and Bud Coyle from Hayden, Stone. Details of contract: Contract between “the California Group” and “Fairchild Controls,” 19 Sept. 1957, Shockley Papers, Accession # 95–153, SSC. See also letter from Bob Noyce to employees, “Fairchild Semiconductor, 1957–1977” (booklet of reproduced items pertaining to the first 20 years of Fairchild Semiconductor’s existence), SSC. A very good deal for both: Fairchild Founder A, interview by author.
23. I hope to hell: Jay Last, interview by author.
24. Refrigerator salesman story: Penny Noyce, interview with author, 9 April 2002.
25. To cover necessary expenditures: Richard Hodgson to Bob Noyce, 2 Oct. 1957, Misc 581, SSC. Noyce earned more: Salaries for Blank, Grinich, Hoerni, Last, and Moore were $13,800. Kleiner and Roberts were paid $14,700 per year. Noyce received $15,600. FSC board minutes, Anon.
26. Other founders “associated with Dr. Noyce”: “8 Leave Shockley to Form Coast Semiconductor Firm,” Electronic News, 20 Oct. 1957. More of a politician: Jean Hoerni, interview by Charlie Sporck. Always be captain: Fairchild Founder A, interview by author.
27. Sputnik launch: Vic Grinich, interview by Charlie Sporck.
28. Carefully moving: Nelson Stone, interview by author.
29. Didn’t know bupkis: Tom Bay, interview by author.
30. Photo reconnaissance systems: FCI board minutes, 20 March 1958, Anon.
31. Air Force required: Lecuyer, “Fairchild Semiconductor,” 167–168.
32. Bob is so articulate, never a doubt in his mind: Tom Bay, interview by author.
33. Private meeting: Richard Hodgson, interview by author, 19 May 1999; “Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation: Company Profile,” Solid State Journal, Sept./Oct. 1960, 1.
34. IBM left little to chance: Lecuyer, “Making Silicon Valley,” 166.
35. Develop own equipment, order elements from Sweden: Gordon Moore, interview by Alan Chen. Wafers the size of a dime: Noyce speaks of “5/8-inch wafers” in 1963 in Noyce, “The Integrated Circuit: Origins and Impacts,” Core 1.3 [Magazine of the Computer Museum History Center], Sept. 2000, originally printed in The Computer Museum Reports, Vol. 11, Winter 1984–1985. Thanks to Ross Bassett for pointing me to this article.
36. Noyce went to a photography store: Gordon Moore, interview by Alan Chen.
37. Work with Eastman Kodak: Lecuyer, “Making Silicon Valley,” 170.
39. Breakdown of job responsibilities: L. N. Duryea to Erickson, Wright, Hanafin, and Steinmeyer.
40. Noyce was the technical head: Julius Blank, interview by Charlie Sporck.
41. Everything but our names: David Diffenderfer, interview by author, 1 May 2003.
42. Baldwin never put in the cursory $500: Gordon Moore, interview by Rob Walker, 18 Sept. 1995. Video, Silicon Genesis Collection, SSC. Baldwin pressing for more stock: Richard Hodgson, interview by author.
43. An allowance: Richard Hodgson, interview by author.
44. Shoot ten times that high: Bay quoted in Don Hoefler, “I Didn’t Raise My Boy to be a Manager,” Electronic News, 17 Oct. 1966. Do one thing well: Noyce, 1982 Reid interview.
45. Group in circle: Julius Blank, interview by author.
46. We scooped the industry: Last “meeting notes” notebook, courtesy Jay Last. Details on Wescon and introduction of the Fairchild transistor: Lecuyer, “Fairchild Semiconductor,” 171.
Chapter 5: Invention
1. All Fairchild notebooks: Anon.
2. On Shockley’s research method: Sheldon Roberts, interview by Christophe Lecuyer, 6 July 1996.
3. Know the science, find not seek: Noyce’s comments recalled by Kathy Cohen, interview by author.
4. Think about the fundamentals: Sheldon Roberts interview by Lecuyer. Ask himself why won’t this work: “Quick Thinking for Chips,” Economist, 27 Dec. 1980.
5. Many ideas, some of them good: Gordon Moore, interview by author.
6. Exchange between Noyce and Moore on aluminum contacts: Gordon Moore, interview by author.
The Man Behind the Microchip Page 49
