Semiconductor History

TI introduced the 900 series silicon transistors in 1954 but they continued to produce germanium transistors. The germanium grown junction 2N172 was introduced in 1956, adding to their transistor portfolio for radios. TI and IDEA introduced the first all transistor radio (Regency TR-1) in 1954. TI started transistor development in Lemmon Avenue in Dallas and in 1958 moved to a 300 acre site at North Central Expressway. The Semiconductor building was the first building on the campus. The building is still there (although modified) and is now a Raytheon building following the acquisition of TI's defense business in 1997.  Working transistor, hfe=23, Vf=183mV, fairly low gain.

Western Electric 2N27 Early Transistor To the left is a Western Electric grown junction transistor from the mid 1950s, when full rate production started on the first grown junction transistors. The technology was developed in Bell Labs after the point contact transistor, and was significantly more reliable and manufacturable. William Shockley, later to form Shockley Semiconductors on the West Coast, developed the theory of the grown junction transistor. However they didn't last too long, being pretty much superseded by Alloy Junction transistors. The 2N27, 2N28 and 2N29 were the first grown junction transistors. GE 2N167 Transistor General Electric were also an early developer or grown junction transistor technology. The 2N167 germanium grown junction transistor on the left is from the late 1950s. There is a small slab (or bar) of germanium which has been sliced from a larger grown crystal with impurities added to make the npn type transistor structure. The emitter and ...