5. Marketing divisions: Walter Matthews, “Shift Semicon Sales Setup at Fairchild,” Electronic News, 6 April 1964. Stocking representatives: “FCS Sets up ‘Stocking Rep’ Plan,” Electronic News, 12 June 1961. For more on electronics distributors and Fairchild’s relations with its distributors, see Robert Noyce, “integrated circuit Producers to Complement OEM Circuit Role,” Electronic News, 10 May 1965. First infomercial: “A Briefing on Integrated Circuits,” courtesy Harry Sello. “Fairchild ‘Special’ Aimed at Select Group,” Broadcasting (2 Oct. 1967): 35. The article calls the special “a landmark event in television … the first of its kind in TV history.” The Fairchild annual report for 1967 notes that the show was carried by 32 stations and “viewed by an estimated 2 million persons. This is [the] first known use of commercial TV to teach a technical subject.”
6. Direct government purchases 35 percent of sales: “Fairchild: Tiny Semiconductors, Big Business,” Palo Alto Times, 10 Aug. 1960. Fairchild worked closely with the government: Charlie Sporck, interview by author; Jay Last, interview by author; Lecuyer, “Making Silicon Valley,” chaps. 3 and 4.
7. Government contracts unethical, have confidence in yourself: Noyce, 1965 Kleiman interview.
8. Written as if bidders were crooks: Bill Noyce, interview by author. Interesting slop; hard, young, hungry group: Noyce, 1965 Kleiman interview. Gordon Moore shared: R&D Progress Report from Moore and Grinich to Noyce, 15 Feb. 1962, Box 7, File 2, Fairchild R&D Reports, SSC. We like it that way: “Man Behind the News,” Electronic News, 3 Dec. 1962.
9. Space in Hong Kong: Noyce 1961 datebook (but entry from 21 May 1962).
10. Automation in semiconductor industry: “Semiconductor Field Mechanizing Fast,” Electronic News, 21 March, 1960, 110. At this point, Semiconductor’s automation was limited to testing, the area that was eventually spun into Fairchild Instrumentation. Move to Hong Kong: Jerry Levine, interview by author; Charlie Sporck, interview by author.
11. Practically thrown out of the board room: Richard Hodgson, interview by author; date is from minutes of the meeting of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of Fairchild Camera and Instrument, 22 Jan. 1964.
12. Hong Kong wages: Jerry Levine, interview by author. Fairchild wages: Eugene Kleiner to Gordon Moore, 1 Dec. 1960, Fairchild R&D Reports, SSC. Korean plant and wages: “FCS Plans Korea Plant,” Electronic News.
13. 1968 overseas data: Fairchild Camera and Instrument Annual Report 1968.
14. Other firms imitated the move: these include Continental Device Corp., General Electric, and ITT Semiconductor. Don Hoefler, “Hit ‘Em Where They Ain’t,” Electronic News, 15 Jan. 1968, 1. In 1974, 69 assembly plants: Braun and McDonald, Revolution in Miniature.
15. We lost the process: Paul Hwoschinsky, interview by author. We are going to bury: James F. Gibbons, interview by author.
16. Noyce’s 1965 schedule: Sept. and Oct. entries, 1965 datebook, ASB.
17. Ask for 10 percent: Noyce, 1961 datebook, undated entry. Could get much more, Noyce is God in Japan: Roger Borovoy, interview by author. Excess of $100 million: Borovoy, “The T.I. Integrated circuit Patents in Japan: What Really Happened?” unpublished memo, 27 Nov. 1989, courtesy Roger Borovoy.
18. I’m concerned: Noyce, 1965 Kleiman interview.
19. An air force experiment: Siekman, “In Electronics, the Big Stakes Ride on Tiny Chips.”
20. First commercial integrated circuit: “Progress Report, Applications Engineering Section, 1 June 1961,” Box 6, File 5, Fairchild R&D Division, Technical Reports and Progress Reports, SSC. St. Moritz seminars: Don Hoefler, “Integrated Circuit Billion $ Baby,” Electronic News, 18 Oct. 1971.
21. Computer in 1952 election: Martin Campbell-Kelly and William Aspray, Computer: A History of the Information Age (New York: Basic Books, 1996), 121–123. Only 100 corporations would need computers: James W. Cortada, The Computer in the United States: From Laboratory to Market (Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe, 1993). Federal government statistics: Martha Smith Parks, Microelectronics in the 1970s, (Rockwell International Corporation, 1974), 59.
22. Interest in Micrologic devices: Leadwire, April 1961. Noyce tells Philco tough: Noyce 1961 datebook, 29 June entry.
23. By the end of 1961: Bob Graham [Micrologic sales manager] to All Field Sales, 1 Dec. 1961, courtesy Jay Last. Graham letter is also the source of the Texas Instruments pricing information.
24. Now Noyce wanted: Noyce wrote “μckts group → systems” in his 1961 datebook. Resistance to integrated circuits by design engineers: For more on this point, see Bassett, “New Technology,” 229.
25. Would remain on R&D level: Richard Gessell, “Integrated Circuitry Held Far From Payoff,” Electronic News, 27 March 1963.
26. Most important Fairchild First: Leadwire, Oct. 1961. Noyce’s notes on microcircuits: Noyce’s 1961 and 1962 notebooks. In roughly February or March of that year, he has noted on his to-do list: “Cease and desist to Signetics, Amelco.” Find evidence of Signetics infringement: 20 June 1962 entry in Noyce’s 1961 notebook, ASB.
27. Less than 10 percent effect: “The Impact of Microelectronics.”
28. Advertised integrated circuit benefits: “From Fairchild: Two Approaches to Multiple Devices” (advertisement), Electronic News, 8 May 1961. The company promoted similar qualities in its technical presentations.
29. Percent of integrated circuits bought by military: Michael G. Borrus, Competing for Control: America’s Stake in Microelectronics (Cambridge, Mass.: Ballinger, 1988): 159. For more on the changes in military purchasing in the early 1960s, see Lecuyer, “Making Silicon Valley,” 220–225.
30. Selling ideas is engineering problem: Noyce, “A Changing World: Keynote Speech Delivered Before Bendix Microprocessor Conference,” 26 Oct. 1977: 1, IA. Technical sophistication of customers: Freund, “Competition and Innovation,” 30; E. Floyd Kvamme, “Life in Silicon Valley: A First-Hand View of the Region’s Growth,” in The Silicon Valley Edge: A Habitat for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, ed. Chong-Moon Lee, William F. Miller, Marguerite Gong Hancock, and Henry S. Rowen (Stanford, Ca.: Stanford University Press, 2000).
31. Sell for less than cost of device: it is unclear whether the precise month in which the cost cutting occurred was March or May. Philip Siekman, “In Electronics, the Big Stakes Rides on Tiny Chips,” 122; “Tiny Chip Brings a Big Payoff; Integrated Circuits Find More Commercial Applications,” Business Week 17 April 1965: 85–88. See also, “Below $1 integrated circuit Price Nears,” reprinted in Electronic News 25th Anniversary Issue, Section 2, 25 Jan. 1982. 76. Bob’s unheralded contribution: Moore quoted in “A Macro View of Microelectronics: Gordon E. Moore of Intel,” IEEE Design and Test (Nov., 1984), 17. The price slashing, while surprising, was not unprecedented. Fairchild had done something similar with its silicon transistors the year before. Noyce smiled: Rostky, “Thirty Years That Made A Difference,” 64.
32. Profit on low prices: Events in Fairchild’s recent history may well have given Noyce reason to be optimistic about his chances of success. Between 1959 and 1962, for example, Fairchild’s production of its LPHF transistor line increased 660-fold, with costs only quintupling. The cost of the transistor fell by 90 percent, while at the same time, revenue grew ten-fold and profits tripled. Freund, “Competition and Innovation,” Table XI, 70. When there’s a problem, lower the price: Gordon Moore speaking at the Intel memorial service for Noyce, 18 June 1990.
33. Book-printing analogy: Noyce, “Machine that Changed the World”; letter from Bill Ford in “Robert Noyce, Special Tribute,” San Jose Mercury News, 17 June 1990.
34. I doubt if Noyce: “Dr. Moore, Tape 2, 6/8/94.” Prices already falling: The average price of an integrated circuit fell 41 percent between 1963 and 1964. Braun and Macdonald, Revolution in Miniature, 98. Prices fell but profits tripled: Freund, “Competition and Innovation,” 70.
35. Fairchild in top position: Philip Siekman, “In Electronics, the Big Stakes Ride on Tiny Chips,” 122. 1966 sales figures: Bob Tamarkin,
“Tiny Circuitry’s Big World,” Chicago Daily News, 3 Nov. 1966. Lecuyer points to several reasons for this explosive growth in the commercial market, including growth in the early computer industry, as well as the FCC’s decision to require all television monitors to be able to receive UHF signals. Lecuyer, “Making Silicon Valley,” 226–229.
36. A single order: The order was probably for Loran Systems. “Fairchild Semicon Gets Sperry Order,” Electronic News, 5 April 1965. 1966 Burroughs order: Leadwire, Dec. 1966. Uses for integrated circuits: “A Briefing on Integrated Circuits”; “Engineers Eye Integrated Consumer Products,” Television Digest, 30 March 1964, 7–8; Michael F. Wolff, “When Will Integrated Circuits Go Civilian? Good Guess: 1965,” Electronics, 10 May 1963, 20–24.
37. Cost of IBM System/360: Campbell-Kelly and Aspray, Computer, 140. Only computers anyone would need: Don Palfreman and Doron Swade, The Dream Machine: Exploring the Computer Age (London: BBC Books, 1993), 78–80. For a contemporary description of the IBM System/360 series, see International Business Machines, Introduction to IBM Data Processing Systems (White Plains, N.Y.: 1969). Electronic Girl Fridays: Martha Smith Parks, Microelectronics in the 1970s (Rockwell International Corporation: 1974), 59. 95 percent of banks: Palfreman and Swade, Dream Machine, 78.
38. In 1966, 3,600 minicomputers: Campbell-Kelly and Aspray, Computer, 229.
39. Significant and essential contributions: “Medal Days,” The [Franklin] Institute News, Oct. 1966. Full extent of revolution: Report No. 3467 of the Franklin Institute, Investigating the Work of Jack S. Kilby, of Dallas, Texas, and Robert N. Noyce, of Los Altos, California [issued 15 June 1966], IA.
40. No huge lightbulb: Wolff, “Genesis of the Integrated Circuit,” 51.
41. Camera and Instrument share price: “What Made a High Flier Take Off at Top Speed,” Business Week, 30 Oct. 1965, 118–22; “Exchange Calls FC&I Pacer,” Electronic News, 7 Feb. 1966. IBM cross licensing deal: Leadwire, Dec. 1965; “Fairchild Camera, IBM in Cross Deal,” Electronic News, 29 Sept. 1965; Noyce’s notes are in his 1965 datebook, 16 March entry, ASB. Salesmen were encouraged: Robert Graham, interview by Charlie Sporck.
42. Riding a fast horse: Paul Hwoschinsky, interview by author.
43. Quantities of half million: Fairchild Camera and Instrument Annual Report 1965.
44. Fairchild reporting structure: Charlie Sporck, interview by author, 28 Dec. 2000.
45. Noyce split his time: 1965 datebook.
46. Spend two hours: Moore quoted in Lindgren, “Two-Headed Monster.” Bob at party: Betty Noyce to Bill Noyce, 22 July 1963.
47. Tom Swifties: Betty Noyce to Bill Noyce, 22 July 1963. Sock puppets: Phyllis Kefauver, interview by author. In 1972, Betty Noyce wrote a slightly fictionalized account of the sock escapade, “Sock-Dol-O-Gy” under the pen name E. N. Barry.
48. Helped Charlie Sporck: Charlie Sporck, interview by author. Took Billy to tune: Jim Angell, interview by author. Scheduled weekend meetings: Noyce, 1962 datebook. Cottage at Lake Tahoe: Bob and Phyllis White, interview by author; Bob and Phyllis Kefauver, interview by author. A thousand times: Penny Noyce, speaking at the SEMATECH memorial service for Bob Noyce.
49. Relaxing to work on something: Bill Noyce, interview by author.
50. Worried she was damaging: interview with family friend requesting anonymity. Several of Noyce’s children confirmed their mother’s childrearing tactics. Story of the skydiver: Penny Noyce speaking at the Intel memorial service for her father.
51. He wanted children: Polly Noyce, interview by author.
52. Did not want a man: Shockley notebook marked “Trip 25 Nov to 5 Dec 1955,” Shockley papers, 95–153, SSC. Description of ideal wife: “Executive Wives,” Electronic News, 6 June 1966.
53. I fear I neglect: Betty Noyce quoted in Melbourne [Australia]Sun, 12 May 1966. Courtesy Polly Noyce.
54. Meals should not take longer: Penny Noyce, interview by author. Why is it: Richard Hodgson, interview by author.
55. Miss the beautiful young girls: Leadwire, Nov. 1959.
56. Stranger to his own family, you’re nothing: Nilo Lindgren, “Two-Headed Monster.”
57. Reorganization: Charlie Sporck, interview by author, 28 Dec. 2000.
58. Meeting one-third of commitments: Hoefler, “FC&I Profit Dip on integrated circuits,” Electronic News, 21 Nov. 1966. Devices never manufactured: Don Hoefler, “FC&I Profit Dip on integrated circuits”; Walter Matthews, “Geographic Expansion Set by Fairchild,” Electronic News, 19 July 1965. First parts from R&D: Roger Borovoy, interview by author, 27 Jan. 1999.
59. If I could just buy: “What Made a High Flier Take Off at Top Speed.”
60. FAIRCHILD 71: Fairchild Camera and Instrument Annual Report 1966. Division more profitable: Robert Noyce to Sherman Fairchild, 25 June 1968. Camera and Instrument did not break down earnings by division, but Time estimated that Semiconductor was responsible for 98 percent of the parent company’s profits. “Mighty Miniatures,” Time, 4 March 1965, 93–94. Noyce not director: Fairchild Camera and Instrument Annual Report 1966.
61. Sporck and others to National: “Nat’l Semiconductor Moving, Realigning Top Management,” Electronic News, 6 March 1967. Among those who left with Sporck, or shortly thereafter to join him, were Floyd Kvamme, marketing manager for integrated circuits, Pierre Lamond, integrated circuit production manager; Roger Smuller, manufacturing manager for integrated circuits; Fred Bialek, overseas operations manager for microcircuits; and Don Valentine, director of marketing. Throwing away, why don’t I do that: Charlie Sporck, interview by author.
62. I essentially cried: Noyce quoted in Malone, Big Score, 108. Technical reports: owner requested anonymity.
63. Company was a mess: Gordon Moore, interview by author, 2 July 2004.
64. Our scheme had worked: Communication from Brenda Borovoy to the author, 11 May 1998.
65. Felt things were falling apart: Robert Noyce, “Machine that Changed the World.”
66. Administrative details: Noyce notebooks for 1961, 1962, 1965, all ASB. Try to get East Coast out: Noyce 1962 notebook, entry around 2 Jan. 1963.
67. Going to the lab: “Parent and Child,” Electronics (8 July 1968): 54. After growing up: “Turning a Science into an Industry,” IEEE Spectrum, Jan. 1966, 101.
68. Democratization of stock options: This figure takes into account a three-for-two stock split during 1967. The additional shares followed on the granting of 215,525 new options—an enormous increase (even taking into account the stock split) over the previous year’s 73,400, and the 1965 grant of 5,300. Fairchild Camera and Instrument Annual Report 1965, 1966, 1967. Stock option details: Minutes of the FCI Stock Option Committee, 1 March 1967, 16 March 1967, 18 May 1967, 21 Sept. 1967, Anon.
69. 35 people joined Sporck, every semiconductor company: “The Fight That Fairchild Won,” 100.
70. Difficulties overcome: “Coast Firm Unplugs Jam in Output,” Electronic News, 20 March 1967. Drop in demand: “Paying the Piper,” Forbes, 15 Nov. 1967; “FC&I Head Resigns; Earnings Plummet,” Electronic News, 27 Oct. 1967. Fairchild reported losses: Don Hoefler, “FC&I, Mountain View, Breathes Easier,” Electronic News, 30 Oct. 1967.
71. Third-quarter performance: “Paying the Piper”; “Carter Resigns; Earnings Plummet,” Electronic News, 23 Oct. 1967. Stock price slid: Alfred D. Cook, “Sherman Fairchild’s July 4th Fizzles,” Electronic News, 8 July 1968.
72. Carter out, Hodgson in: Carter attempted to rally a small group of directors to defend his acquisitions strategy when the rest of the board wanted to divest themselves of the losing operations. When Carter’s rally failed, he quit before he could be fired. FCI board minutes. When you kill the king: Noyce quoted in Don C. Hoefler, “Captains Outrageous,” California Today, 28 June 1981, 42.
73. $7.7 million loss: Fairchild Camera and Instrument Annual Report 1967. The report notes that “the Semiconductor Division accounts for well over half of the Corporation’s sales.” Group all losses: Cook, “Sherman Fairchild’s July 4th F
izzles,” 1.
74. I’m thinking of leaving Fairchild: Gordon Moore, interview by author, 2 July 2004.
75. Number of minicomputers: Campbell-Kelly and Aspray, Computer, 229. Fairchild held 80 percent: Lecuyer, “Making Silicon Valley,” 22. Fairchild itself: Gordon Moore, interview by author. IBM had been researching: Basset, “New Technology,” 332.
76. Everyone expected: Electronic News, 27 May 1968; Charlie Sporck, interview by author; Gordon Moore, interview by author; Roger Borovoy, interview by author. Presidential material someday: Robert Noyce to Sherman Fairchild, 25 June 1968, Anon. Kind of ticked off: Gordon Moore, interview by Rob Walker, SSC. Tail wagging the corporate dog: “Semiconductor was the company,” Noyce said, “but they [Camera and Instrument] insisted on treating it as just another division.” Don Hoefler, “Dr. Noyce Happy Doing His Thing,” Electronic News, 28 Oct. 1968.
77. Noyce verbally resigned: “The Fight That Fairchild Won,” 112. This version of events is supported by details in “Musical Chairs,” Electronics, 19 July 1968. Noyce’s negotiations with Hogan: C. Lester Hogan, interview by Rob Walker, SSC.
78. The Hogan: “Where the Action is in Electronics,” Business Week, 4 Oct. 1969; Malone, Big Score, 124. Brought every manager: The one exception was marketing VP Tom Connors. In two years, some 60 former Motorola employees caught what one wag called “the Motorola-to-Fairchild Express” to California. Move headquarters: “Fairchild Camera Formalizes Base Location to California,” Electronic News, 30 Sept. 1968. I wouldn’t have gone: Lester Hogan, interview by Rob Walker, 22 Aug. 1995, SSC.
79. As the company has grown, twice the population: Robert Noyce to Sherman Fairchild, 25 June 1968.
80. All quotes in this paragraph: Robert Noyce to Sherman Fairchild, 25 June 1968.
81. All quotes in this paragraph: Robert Noyce to Sherman Fairchild, 25 June 1968.
The Man Behind the Microchip Page 51