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Integrated-circuit era (1959-1975)
Jean Hoerni
1924-1997
Invented the planar process in 1959, the foundation of modern IC manufacturing.
Contributions
- 01Swiss physicist at Fairchild Semiconductor.
- 02Used silicon dioxide to protect and pattern transistors flat on the wafer.
- 03Enabled photolithography and the entire mass-production model.
Why it matters for planar process
The planar process is why we can print billions of transistors reliably. It is the manufacturing breakthrough behind Moore's Law.