The foundation of the silicon age

The invention of the transistor almost fifty years ago was one of the most important technical developments of this century. It has had profound impact on the way we live and the way we work. This paper describes the events that led to the invention of the point-contact transistor in December of 1947. It continues with the development of the theory of the junction transistor in early 1948 and the fabrication of the first grown-junction transistor in 1950. The paper next covers the major hurdles that had to be overcome and the major breakthroughs that had to be made to turn an exciting invention into a far-reaching technical innovation. The final part of the paper suggests some of the reasons why such an important technological progress could occur in a relatively short period of time.