Solid State technologies and the Golden Age

05/01/1997

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

Solid State Technology and the industry`s Golden Age

This year, Solid State Technology celebrates four decades of technology coverage of an amazing industry. We look back at its early years, not to lament the passing of bygone times often called "those good old days," but to commemorate the privilege of chronicling the birth and incredible technological advancement of an exciting new industry that has revolutionized our lives.

Two major events of the year 1956 were the re-election of Dwight D. Eisenhower as President of the US, and the awarding of the Nobel Prize in physics to three American scientists - Drs. William Shockley, John Bardeen, and Walter Brattain, - who invented the transistor in 1947 at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, NJ (Fig. 1).

Figure 1. John Bardeen, William Shockley, and Walter Brattain, inventors of the transistor, shown at Bell Telephone Laboratories in 1948. (Photo courtesy of Lucent Technologies and Bell Labs Innovations.)

At about the same time, Sam Marshall, a young visionary editor at a small publishing company in New York City, had begun to develop the concept of a semiconductor trade magazine (Fig. 2). He visited various companies, met with industry people to assess their needs for reportorial coverage of their technical achievements, and planned the scope and editorial direction of the publication. In January 1958, after the semiconductor industry had crossed the $100 million mark, the bi-monthly Semiconductor Products (Solid State Technology`s original title) made its debut (Fig. 3). Early technical contributors to the new magazine included industry giants Bill Shockley, Andy Grove, and H.C. Lin, among others.

Figure 2. Sam Marshall, founder of Solid State Technology. (Photo courtesy of SEMI.)

Figure 3. The first cover of Solid State Technology (known then as Semiconductor Products).

In his charter issue`s editorial, Sam laid out the magazine`s editorial purpose and objectives: "to provide current and authoritative information pertaining to the semiconductor industry and to the scientific personnel engaged in this industry; to provide a medium for scientists to transmit their ideas, developments, and investigations; and to provide a reportorial service wherein we will present helpful facts, figures, and information from authoritative sources." He further stated, "The articles and papers appearing in this magazine are intended to be on an engineering level, covering basic R&D, application, and production of semiconductors and other solid-state devices, as well as their related products. First and foremost will be the kind of article that will help the engineer in research, design, and production problems." A few examples were given of the ever-growing applications of transistors. Sam went on to say, "As the versatility of solid-state devices becomes more and more apparent, their applications will become more universal. We have barely scratched the surface of development and application in this new and exciting industry." How right he was!

Those, of course, were the days long before faxes and desktop computers. Magazine copy was set by linotype. Layouts were done on a table with rubber cement. Sam solicited and edited the technical manuscripts, and I edited and proofread the news and product sections. Most of the news in the industry, all in the US in those days, came in via the US mail and telephone. I took many company announcements over the phone in longhand so that manufacturers could meet our deadline and make the next issue. Galleys were mailed to authors for checking, a means of communication we called "pony express." My electric typewriter (the first in the company) served as "office automation." In its second year of publication, Semiconductor Products became a monthly. Oscar Fisch, Sam`s teaching colleague and a physicist by education, joined the staff to primarily assist with editing the technical feature articles.

During those early years as a neophyte editor, I came into contact with many brilliant young engineers when Sam sent me to cover industry events. I called that time my "Did I know..." period. Did I know that history was being made? Did I know, on one such occasion, that a young man sitting on the floor during an informal press meeting and talking about very little that I understood, would become an industry icon? His name was Robert Noyce. Did I know?

Those were very tumultuous times in the young semiconductor industry. Bill Shockley left Bell Labs in 1955 to form Shockley Laboratories in Palo Alto, CA, and within a year or two a group of his engineers left his company to form Fairchild Semiconductor. They became known as the "gang of eight," but Shockley referred to them as the "traitorous eight." Few words were minced in those days.

Fairchild Semiconductor was a unit of Fairchild Camera & Instrument Corp., in Long Island, NY, founded by Sherman Fairchild. When he dedicated the Fairchild R&D Labs in 1965, Charles Sporck was named marketing manager, beginning a career that would ultimately lead to his becoming a legend at National Semiconductor. Noyce, as well as Jack Kilby at Texas Instruments, were doing work that led to the development of the integrated circuit. In 1968, Noyce, Gordon Moore, and Andy Grove resigned from Fairchild to start a company called Intel. Fairchild spawned many people who later started various Silicon Valley companies, such as Advanced Micro Devices, LSI Logic, and National Semiconductor. Industry networking was in full swing at the Wagon Wheel Bar in Mountain View, CA, where many industry people gathered to learn what was happening, and often to make deals.

Semiconductor Products magazine, headed by Sam Marshall, was on the scene during those early years reporting on the fledgling industry with scientific articles, new product developments, and news. The magazine`s growth during this period reflected the industry`s increasing complexity, and in 1968, Sam repositioned it and gave it the title Solid State Technology. The need had become very strong for more sophisticated materials and equipment to manufacture the devices. Semiconductor equipment manufacturers were unhappily exhibiting at the IEEE Show in the New York City Coliseum. Given booths on the fourth floor and attracting as many visitors as a rainy day in Central Park, exhibitors began to discuss having a show of their own in California. The year was 1970, and Bill Hugle (then of Hugle Industries), Fred Kulicke of Kulicke and Soffa, and the late Phil Gregory (then with Raytheon) co-founded the SEMICON show (Fig. 4). According to Dr. Hugle, the late John Dannelly, a co-founder of Thermco, also made major contributions to getting the first SEMICON off the ground in 1971.

Figure 4. Three of SEMI`s founders: Bill Hugle, Phil Gregory, and Fred Kulicke, circa early 1980s. (Photo courtesy of SEMI.)

In a 10th Anniversary editorial in Solid State Technology, Sam Marshall reiterated his pledge to ensure that SST would remain a manufacturer`s journal; SST`s editorial emphasis had long become involved with the technology underlying the semiconductor industry. In the early 1970s, he presented the industry with a companion publication to SST - the Annual Solid State Processing and Production Buyer`s Guide & Directory. This comprehensive listing, today known as The Resource Guide, features more than 2000 products and services grouped into 13 major categories.

In a recent tribute to Sam, Bill Hugle stated: "Both the late Sam Marshall and Solid State Technology played an important role in the shaping of SEMI and the SEMICON shows. Although Sam was not on the first board of directors at SEMI, he was such an active and enthusiastic supporter that he was unanimously voted in when the first vacancy occurred. Most of the initial publicity about the organization and the show itself was the result of Sam`s efforts, and he even gave us the SST mailing list to promote the first show." Sam Marshall, to this day, remains the only trade press editor to have served on the SEMI board. In 1972, Sam organized SEMI`s first technical program at SEMICON/West, and its tremendous success earned him industry-wide accolades and election to SEMI`s board of directors in 1973. During his eight years of service on the board, Sam organized the annual technical symposiums for SEMICON/West and SEMICON/East. In 1983, he was honored with the prestigious Crain Award by the American Business Press for editorial excellence. For 27 years, until his death in 1985, he devoted himself to producing a strong technical journal for the semiconductor industry.

Today, Solid State Technology reflects Sam Marshall`s legacy. For 40 years, SST witnessed and contributed to the exciting growth of a brash new industry that skyrocketed from infancy to a keystone position in the world electronics market. SST has covered an astounding technological revolution resulting from trail-blazing entrepreneurship by hard-working visionary individuals in companies and laboratories. The great individuals and teams producing today`s advanced materials and equipment are too numerous to list in this limited space. One just has to visit SEMICON/West, which is bursting at the seams with products, as well as the numerous other shows and conferences to see the industry`s progress and expansion. Today, we are looking at 12-inch (300-mm) wafers. Not too long ago in the scope of history, this would have been compared to science fiction.

Solid State Technology magazine is proud to have been part of the history of this great industry. We continue to report on the worldwide semiconductor market with technical information at the cutting edge as well as timely meaningful news coverage. As we approach the 21st century, Solid State Technology looks forward with excitement to many more years of service to its readers and advertisers. The best is yet to come!

Selma Uslaner is director of industry relations at Solid State Technology. Selma has worked with the magazine since its inception in 1958. Her various roles have included editorial assistant, show coordinator, reporter, news editor, and managing editor. She can be reached at 35-50 85th St. #5H, Jackson Heights, NY 11372-5570; ph 718/899-1994, fax 718/899-2083.