Semiconductor History

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Answer this question in the quiz to reveal the explanation.

Answer this question in the quiz to reveal the explanation.

Answer this question in the quiz to reveal the explanation.

Answer this question in the quiz to reveal the explanation.

Answer this question in the quiz to reveal the explanation.

Answer this question in the quiz to reveal the explanation.

Question 1

In December 1947, which three Bell Labs scientists invented the world's first working point-contact transistor, earning the 1956 Nobel Prize?

Question 2

What group of eight brilliant scientists rebelled against William Shockley's abusive management in 1957, founding Fairchild Semiconductor?

Question 3

Which two inventors independently invented the integrated circuit in 1958 and 1959, at Texas Instruments and Fairchild Semiconductor respectively?

Question 4

What manufacturing innovation introduced by Jean Hoerni at Fairchild in 1959 protected delicate silicon junctions with silicon dioxide?

Question 5

What 1971 invention by Intel engineers Federico Faggin, Ted Hoff, and Stanley Mazor became the world's first single-chip commercial microprocessor?

Question 6

What Taiwanese executive founded TSMC in 1987, pioneering the dedicated semiconductor pure-play foundry business model?

Question 7

What British microprocessor company spun out of Acorn Computers in 1990, designing the energy-efficient RISC architecture inside modern smartphones?

Question 8

What crystalline growth process, invented in 1915, is used to pull high-purity single-crystal silicon boules from molten vats?

Question 9

What high-permittivity dielectric material did Intel introduce at the 45nm node in 2007 to stop quantum electron tunneling leakage?

Question 10

What US federal statute enacted in August 2022 provided $52.7 billion in subsidies to re-shore domestic semiconductor manufacturing?

In December 1947, which three Bell Labs scientists invented the world's first working point-contact transistor, earning the 1956 Nobel Prize?