Texas Instruments Integrated Circuit

Designed by electrical engineer Jack Kilby, this prototype integrated circuit was the beginning of a revolution for many industries including computers, electronics, and transportation. The ability to make in miniature what had previously filled an entire room paved the way for smaller, faster, and more powerful computers. 

Jack Kilby (1923–2005) was an electrical engineer who joined Texas Instruments in the summer of 1958. While the rest of the office took its annual summer break, Kilby remained in the office and studied how to effectively and efficiently reduce the number of wires required to run computers. Up to that point, each part of the computer, transistors, resistors, and capacitors were wired together, which meant computers had miles and miles of wiring. Jack Kilby thought, if he could make all of the parts out of the same material, the “circuit” connections could be made in miniature. The first prototype was made from germanium but was replaced with silicon. 

Robert Noyce of California came up with a similar idea in 1959 and filed a patent while the one from Texas Instruments was still under review. Noyce was granted the first patent, but both men are credited as having independently conceived the idea. The invention of the integrated circuit was the genesis of almost every electronic product used today. From cell phones, to video games, to spaceships, the chip has changed the world. Kilby received the Nobel Prize in Physics on December 10, 2000, for his part in the invention of the integrated circuit. To congratulate him, President Bill Clinton wrote, “You can take pride in the knowledge that your work will help to improve lives for generations to come.”

One of Kilby’s prototype microchips is on display on the Bullock Museum’s third floor. “The IC that is on display at the Texas State History Museum is one of only six prototypes in existence,” says Andy Smith, Executive Director for the Texas Instruments Foundation. “TI is proud to loan this item to the Museum for visitors to see the impact made on the world by the chip that Jack Kilby built.”