The inventors of the transistor and the microchip: a world-wide revolution in electronics

This chapter includes the following subjects: significance of the transistor and the microchip; the pre-history of the invention of the transistor; the invention of the transistor and its three inventors, the physics and technology of the transistor, and the applications of transistors in telecommunications and broadcasting; the next step forward on the electronic revolution including the invention of the planar integrated circuit - the microchip; and lastly, the ongoing march of semiconductor devices and technology.