Technology Luminaries Describe the Microchips That Changed the World—and Their Lives

Part of IEEE Spectrum’s Special Report: 25 Microchips That Shook the World

Gordon Moore, Cofounder and Chairman Emeritus of Intel

Intel 1103: First commercial 1024-bit DRAM, pivotal for Intel's profitability.

Vinod Khosla, Cofounder of Sun Microsystems

Motorola 68010: Demonstrated microprocessors could compete with larger systems.

Carver Mead, Professor at Caltech

Shottky Barrier Gate FET: Designed in 1965, crucial for microwave communications.

Steve Jurvetson, Managing Director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson

Motorola 68000: Used for building a speaking computer and writing a multitasker in assembler.

Sophie Vandebroek, CTO of Xerox

Analog Devices’ iMEMS Accelerometer: Revolutionized the automotive air-bag industry.

Morris Chang, Founder of TSMC

Intel 1103: Emphasized MOS technology and extended Moore’s Law.

David Ditzel, Intel’s Chief Architect

6502 from MOS Technology: Simplified programming during the 8-bit era.

Jeff Hawkins, Founder of Palm and Numenta

Intel 2716 EPROM: Enabled nonvolatile storage, precursor to flash memory.

Lee Felsenstein, Computer Pioneer

Signetics 555 Timer: Versatile for crafting pulse-sequencing circuits and oscillators.

Frederick P. Brooks, Jr., Professor at UNC Chapel Hill

Original ARM Chip: Key in cellular phones, now the most numerous computer architecture.

Allen Baum, Platform Architect at Intel

74163 Synchronous 4-bit Counter: Taught valuable design lessons and used in various projects.

Nick Tredennick, Technology Analyst

AL1 by Four Phase Systems: A pioneering microprocessor in commercial designs.

Robert A. Pease, Staff Scientist at National Semiconductor

LM10 Op-Amp: First with rail-to-rail output swing, with unique capabilities.

Gordon Bell, Researcher at Microsoft

Intel 4004 System: Foretold the direction of computing technology.

T.J. Rodgers, CEO of Cypress Semiconductor

Cypress Semiconductor CY8C21x34: Enabled custom chip creation rapidly.

Robert Metcalfe, General Partner at Polaris Venture Partners

SEEQ’s Ethernet Chip: Pioneered PC Ethernet for IBM PCs.

David Liddle, Partner at U.S. Venture Partners

National Semiconductor LM709 Op-Amp: Made analog design accessible.

Sophie Wilson, Codesigner of the ARM Processor

MOS Technologies 6502, NE555 Timer, µA741 Op-Amp, RCA CMOS Logic Family: Pivotal in her career.

Vinton Cerf, Chief Internet Evangelist for Google

Multicore Processors: Raised new challenges and possibilities in computing architecture.

Ali Hajimiri, Professor at Caltech

Distributed Active Transformer (DAT): Significant performance improvement for wireless systems.

Charles G. Sodini, MIT Professor

Mostek MK4096 4K DRAM: Standardized the multiplexed address pin configuration.

Hiromichi Fujisawa, Chief Scientist at Hitachi

AMD Am2900 Bit-Slice Microprocessors: Used in early Kanji OCR systems.

James Meindl, Director at Georgia Tech

Optacon Optical-to-Tactile Reader: Aiding the blind with tactile reading.

Francine Berman, Director at San Diego Supercomputer Center

ARM Chips: Revolutionized personal digital devices, enhancing flexibility and accessibility.

Nance Briscoe, Associate Curator at Smithsonian Institution

Intel i860: Critical for early supercomputers like Touchstone Delta and Paragon.

Courtly by: IEEE Spectrum