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Making Silicon Valley: Innovation & the Growth of High Tech, 1930-1970
This book contains a history of the innovative practices in the San Francisco-area electronics industry that paved the way for the rise of the computer industry in Silicon Valley.In Making Silicon Valley , Christophe Lecuyer shows that the explosive growth of the personal computer industry in Silicon Valley was the culmination of decades of growth
and innovation in the San Francisco-area electronics industry. Using the tools of science and technology studies, he explores the formation of Silicon Valley as an industrial district, from its beginnings as the home of a few radio enterprises that operated in the shadow of RCA and other East Coast firms through its establishment as a center of the electronics industry and a leading producer of power grid tubes, microwave tubes, and semiconductors.He traces the emergence of the innovative practices that made this growth possible by following key groups of engineers and entrepreneurs. He examines the forces outside Silicon Valley that shaped the industry - in particular the effect of military patronage and procurement on the growth of the industry and on the development of technologies - and considers the influence of Stanford University and other local institutions of higher learning.The largest Silicon Valley firms - including Eitel-McCullough (Eimac), Litton Industries, Varian Associates, Fairchild Semiconductor, and Intel - dominated the American markets for advanced tubes and semiconductors and, because of their innovations in manufacturing, design, and management, served as models and incubators for other electronics ventures in the area.
Contents:
1Defiant West
2Diversification53
3Military Cooperative91
4Revolution in Silicon129
5Opening Up New Markets169
6Miniaturization211
7Valley of Silicon253
Conclusion295
Notes305
Bibliography
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