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Fairchild Semiconductor, former American electronics company that shares credit with Texas Instruments Incorporated for the invention of the integrated circuit. Founded in 1957, Fairchild was among the earliest firms to successfully manufacture transistors and integrated circuits.

Fairchild revolutionized the semiconductor industry, prompting the widespread adoption of silicon materials in lieu of germanium. It also helped thrust MOSFET technology into the limelight. Growing from a collective of eight upstarts, the company eventually amassed a workforce exceeding 11,000.

Fairchild Semiconductor would quickly become the most important semiconductor company in the world and the company most likely to elevate the MOS transistor to its full potential. The first important step towards achieving Fairchild’s destiny was the invention of the planar semiconductor process.

Fairchild involvement in the development of semiconductor memory devices dates back to the early 1960s. Gordon Moore noted in a 1995 interview “In the early days of the integrated circuit Bob Norman suggested the idea of semiconductor memory ... the whole idea of how semiconductor flip-flops could be used as a memory structure. I

Learn more about the companies that spun off from the legendary Fairchild Semiconductor. Read about their founding, growth, often spectacular success, and sometimes decline. Explore CHM resources to listen to oral histories of company founders and leaders, view innovative products from our collection of artifacts, and read documents from the ...