Guide to the Collection of Fairchild Semiconductor employee papers
Sara Chabino Lott
Computer History Museum
1401 N. Shoreline Blvd.
Mountain View, California 94043
Phone: (650) 810-1010
Email: research@computerhistory.org
URL: http://www.computerhistory.org
© 2008
Computer History Museum. All rights reserved.
Guide to the Collection of Fairchild Semiconductor employee papers
Collection number: X4348.2008; X4172.2008; X4359.2008; X4380.2008; X4324.2008
Computer History Museum
- Processed by:
- Sara Chabino Lott
- Date Completed:
- 2008
- Encoded by:
- Sara Chabino Lott
© 2008 Computer History Museum. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Guide to the Collection of Fairchild Semiconductor employee papers
Dates: 1959-1988
Bulk Dates: 1959-1977
Collection number: X4348.2008; X4172.2008; X4359.2008; X4380.2008; X4324.2008
Creator:
Fairchild Semiconductor
Collection Size:
1.8 linear feet
2 record cartons
Repository:
Computer History Museum
Abstract: The Collection of Fairchild Semiconductor employee papers contains professional papers of early Fairchild Semiconductor employees
Geri Hadley, Hazel White, Robert K. Waits and Lars Lunn. The collection does not contain any official corporate records of
the company. The collection spans 1958 through 1988 with approximately half the collection comprised of newsletters and another
quarter of the collection marketing brochures. The remainder of the collection consists of annual reports, advertisements,
memoranda, articles, graphs, and a very small number of photographs.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
The Computer History Museum can only claim physical ownership of the collection. Users are responsible for satisfying any
claims of the copyright holder. Permission to copy or publish any portion of the Computer History Museum's collection must
be given by the Computer History Museum.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of Item], [Date], Collection of Fairchild Semiconductor employee papers, Lot [#], Box[#], Folder[#], Computer
History Museum, Mountain View, California.
Provenance
The papers that make up the Collection of Fairchild Semiconductor employee papers were donated to the Computer History Museum
by Geri Hadley in May of 2007, Hazel White in July of 2007, Robert K. Waits in October of 2007 and Lars Lunn in October of
2007. The papers were collected individually during each person's time as an employee of Fairchild Semiconductor and maintained
by each person until their donation.
Processing Information
The decision was made to combine these separate donations into one collection to facilitate researcher's access to Fairchild
Semiconductor material. It was also decided that the series arrangement would be by donor, rather than function, so that the
provenance of the donations would remain distinct. Duplicates of printed material across donations have been weeded.
Biography / Administrative History
Fairchild Semiconductor was founded in 1957 by Julius Blank, Victor Grinich, Jean Hoerni, Eugene Kleiner, Jay Last, Gordon
Moore, Robert Noyce, and Sheldon Roberts with funding from New York based Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation (FCIC).
These young scientists and engineers involved in solid-state electronics had developed a method of mass-producing silicon
transistors using a double diffusion technique and a chemical etching system called the "mesa" process. FCIC provided the
necessary backing for the group's project and the development and production of silicon diffused transistors and other semiconductor
devices began.
Fairchild Semiconductor became a wholly-owned subsidiary of FCIC in 1959 and in 1961 became the Semiconductor Division. In
1959, Fairchild Semiconductor announced the development of the patented Planar process for semiconductor device manufacturing.
The Planar process paved the way for such technological advances as the integrated circuit. In 1961 Fairchild introduced the
world's first monolithic integrated circuit and in 1971 the isoplanar process for semiconductor manufacturing.
In 1979 Schlumberger Limited purchased Fairchild Semiconductor as a diversification move, but sold the assets to National
Semiconductor Corporation (NSC) in 1987. In 1997 NSC divested a number of mature products to executives at Fairchild Semiconductor's
former South Portland, Maine facility and the "new" Fairchild Semiconductor became a publicly traded company once again.
For a more detailed account of the history of Fairchild Semiconductor see the recommended readings in the bibliography.
Geri Hadley began working as a secretary at Fairchild Semiconductor in 1965. She soon moved into Marketing and Marketing
Services/Communications, where she became Marketing Communications Manager. Hadley left Fairchild in 1981.
Hazel White began working at Fairchild Semiconductor in 1959. White worked in the Gate Array Division as an Assistant Engineer
until 1987.
Robert K. Waits worked in the Exploratory Devices Section of the Device Physics and Development Department in Research and
Development at Fairchild Semiconductor from 1960 to 1973
Lars Lunn was employee #29 at Fairchild Semiconductor where he worked from 1958 until 1961. Lunn was an engineer in the crystal
growing section of Research and Development and grew some of the first silicon ingots used by the company.
Scope and Content of Collection
Scope and Content of the Collection
The Collection of Fairchild Semiconductor employee papers contains material from employees of Fairchild Semiconductor's Mountain
View, California facility. The collection spans 1959 through 1988 with the bulk of the collection being from 1959 to 1977.
Approximately half of the collection is comprised of Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation (FCIC) and Fairchild Semiconductor
employee newsletters Leadwire, Microwire, Horizons and Views as well as some smaller division specific newsletters. The collection
also contains technical product and process brochures and a small amount of annual reports. Items of interest include a nearly
complete run of Don C. Hoefler's Microelectronics News from January 1979 to May 1981, Fairchild Semiconductor National Sales
Conference souvenir yearbooks and proofs of "Made in Fairchild" advertisements.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in 4 series:
- Series 1: Geri Hadley papers
- Series 2: Hazel White newsletters
- Series 3: Robert K. Waits papers
- Series 4: Lars Lunn papers
Unless otherwise noted dates are inclusive. Unless otherwise noted the original order of the papers has been maintained.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Fairchild (Firm)
Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation
Integrated circuits
Semiconductor industry
Hadley, Geri
White, Hazel
Waits, Robert K.
Lunn, Lars
Bibliography
Berlin, Leslie. The man behind the microchip: Robert Noyce and the invention of
Silicon Valley: Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Lécuyer, Christophe. Making Silicon Valley: innovation and the growth of high
tech, 1930-1970. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 2006.
Lojek, Bo. History of semiconductor engineering. New York: Springer, 2006.
Reid, T. R. The Chip: How Two Americans Invented the Microchip and Launched
a Revolution. New York: Random House, 2001.
Riordan, Michael, and Lillian Hoddeson. Crystal Fire: The Birth of the Information
Age. New York: Norton, 1997.
Related Material
Lot X4017.2007 Gift of Henry Mahler
Lot X4360.2008 Steve Allen photographs of Fairchild Semiconductor
Separated Material
Monographs that were moved to the library from the Geri Hadley papers:
Kvamme, E. Floyd, and L. H. Bieler. Fairchild Semiconductor Integrated Circuits. Mountain View, Calif: Fairchild Semiconductor,
1966.
box 1
Geri Hadley papers
1959-1986
1965-1977
Collector:
Hadley, Geri
Physical Description: 29 folders
Series Scope and Content Summary
This series contains FCIC and Fairchild Semiconductor employee newsletters, annual reports, advertisements, technical brochures,
sales conference yearbooks, and memoranda that Hadley deemed interesting.
Arrangement
This series is arranged in 3 subseries:
- Newsletters
- Other printed
- Memoranda
box 1
Newsletters
1966-1986
Physical Description: 8 folders
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
This subseries contains the FCIC employee newsletters Horizons and Views and the Fairchild Semiconductor employee newsletters
Leadwire and Microwire, as well as some individual division's newsletters. Also included is an incomplete run of Don C. Hoefler's
Microelectronics News with Managers Casebook from 1979 through 1981.
Arrangement
This subseries is arranged in 6 subseries:
- Microwire
- Leadwire
- Views
- Horizons
- Other
- Microelectronics News
box 1
Microwire
1968-1975
Physical Description: 8 folders
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
This subseries contains an incomplete run of Microwire. Microwire was published by and for the employees of Fairchild Semiconductor
in Mountain View, Palo Alto, and Sunnyvale, California. Microwire was published twice a month until late 1974 when it switched
to a monthly publication schedule. It was previously called Leadwire News Supplement, included in this subseries. Microwire
contains short articles and announcements about featured employees, promotions, awards, parties, picnics, company sponsored
sports teams, open houses and classifieds. Microwire is similar in content to Leadwire, but had a smaller distribution.
Arrangement
This subseries is arranged chronologically.
Leadwire
1966-1970
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
This subseries contains an incomplete run of Leadwire. Leadwire was published by and for the employees of Fairchild Semiconductor
around the world. Leadwire started as a single bi-fold sheet of paper and evolved into a glossy magazine style newsletter.
Leadwire was published monthly until 1970 when it moved to a bi-monthly publication schedule. It contains short articles and
announcements about promotions, awards, anniversaries, company sponsored sports teams, open houses and other human interest
topics. See also Series 2 Hazel White papers for additional issues.
Arrangement
This subseries is arranged chronologically.
102710151
Leadwire
1966-1968
102710152
Leadwire
1968-1970
Views
1969-1970
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
This subseries contains an incomplete run of Views. Views was published for the employees of FCIC and its divisions and subsidiaries.
Views began as a monthly newspaper and evolved into a bi-monthly newsletter by 1970. Views’ focus was keeping employees informed
of management’s thinking and the company’s direction. It contains interviews with executives, profiles of managers, somewhat
in-depth articles about important events shaping the company, whether internal or external, and announcements about service
awards and personnel changes. It had fewer locally specific news items than Microwire or Leadwire.
Arrangement
This subseries is arranged chronologically.
102710154
Views
1969-1970
Horizons
1972-1986
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
This subseries contains an incomplete run of Horizons. Horizons was published for the employees of FCIC. Horizons began as
a bi-monthly newsletter and evolved into a quarterly glossy magazine. Horizons is similar in content to Views, but was intended
to supplement other corporate employee communications by giving a broader view of the company as well as a digest of the events
affecting employees. In addition to articles about the direction of FCIC it sponsored photo contests and showcased employee
hobbies. See also Series 2 Hazel White papers for additional issues.
Arrangement
This subseries is arranged chronologically.
102710155
Horizons
1972-1986
Other
1969-1976
1970
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
This subseries contains miscellaneous newsletters from FCIC divisions around the United States. Included are three issues
of Progress: Fairchild Journal of Semiconductor.
Arrangement
This subseries is arranged alphabetically by newsletter title.
102710156
Miscellaneous newsletters
1969-1976
Microelectronics News
1979-01-1981-05
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
This subseries contains an incomplete run of the weekly newsletter Don C. Hoefler's Microelectronic News about developments
in the field of corporate microelectronics. Most issues include "Manager's Case Book," an editorial on various business and
economic topics. Hoefler is sometimes credited with coining the term "Silicon Valley."
Arrangement
This subseries is arranged chronologically.
102710157
Microelectronics News
1979
102710158
Microelectronics News
1980
102710159
Microelectronics News
1981
box 1
Other printed
1958-1988
1966-1970
Physical Description: 8 folders
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
This subseries contains FCIC and Schlumberger annual reports. Reports for the years 1963, 1966-1967, 1969-1976, and 1978-1979
are missing. See Series 2 Hazel White papers for 1976, 1978 and 1984 annual reports. Also in this series are souvenir yearbooks
from Fairchild Semiconductor's national salesman's conferences held in tropical vacation spots. The yearbooks contain black
and white captioned photographs and are valuable for their candid photographs of salesman at work and at play. Also in this
subseries are proofs from the "Made in Fairchild" advertising campaign from about 1970 and technical product and process brochures
published by Fairchild Instrumentation and Fairchild Semiconductor and an invitation to the 1988 "Thank you Fairchild" gala.
Arrangement
This subseries is arranged alphabetically by function and chronologically within function.
102710160
Annual reports
1958-1961
102710165
Brochures
1961-1988
102710161
Annual reports
1962-1968
102710163
Yearbooks from national sales conferences
1964-1974
102710162
Annual reports
1977-1980
102710164
Advertisements from the Made in Fairchild campaign
circa 1970
box 1
Memoranda
1959-1987
1968-1980
Physical Description: 1 folder
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
This subseries contains memoranda that were originally housed in a folder labeled "memorable memos." The memoranda are incoming,
primarily copies, to all employees, operational vice presidents/executive staff, and some individuals. Topics include the
organizational structure of Fairchild Semiconductor and personnel announcements. Included is one memo from Robert Noyce and
a photocopy of a handwritten memo from Les Hogan. It is unclear how Hadley came to possess memoranda that were not addressed
to her.
Arrangement
This subseries is unarranged.
102710166
Memoranda
1959-1987
box 2
Hazel White newsletters
1959-circa 1988
Collector:
White, Hazel
Physical Description: 16 folders
Series Scope and Content Summary
This series contains Fairchild Semiconductor and FCIC newsletters and some other printed material such as annual reports and
brochures.
Arrangement
This series is arranged in 4 subseries:
- Leadwire
- Horizons
- Other
- Other printed
box 2
Leadwire
1959-1970
Physical Description: 4 folders
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
This subseries contains an incomplete run of Leadwire. Leadwire was published by and for the employees of Fairchild Semiconductor
around the world. Leadwire started as a single bi-fold sheet of paper and evolved into a glossy magazine style newsletter.
Leadwire was published monthly until 1970 when it moved to a bi-monthly publication schedule. It contains short articles and
announcements about promotions, awards, anniversaries, company sponsored sports teams, open houses and other human interest
topics. See also Series 1 Geri Hadley papers for additional issues. This subseries is arranged chronologically.
Arrangement
This subseries is arranged chronologically.
102710167
Leadwire
1959-1961
102710168
Leadwire
1962-1963
102710169
Leadwire
1964-1965
102710170
Leadwire
1966-1970
box 2
Horizons
1973-1986
Physical Description: 5 folders
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
This subseries contains an incomplete run of Horizons. Horizons was published for the employees of FCIC. Horizons began as
a bi-monthly newsletter and evolved into a quarterly glossy magazine. Horizons is similar in content to Views, but was intended
to supplement other corporate employee communications by giving a broader view of the company as well as a digest of the events
affecting employees. In addition to articles about the direction of FCIC it sponsored photo contests and showcased employee
hobbies. See also Series 1 Geri Hadley papers for additional issues.
Arrangement
This subseries is arranged chronologically.
102710171
Horizons
1973-1976
102710172
Horizons
1976-1977
102710173
Horizons
1977-1979
102710174
Horizons
1980-1982
102710175
Horizons
1982-1986
box 2
Other
1978-1986
Physical Description: 5 folders
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
This subseries contains regional and division specific newsletters such as Pacific Circuit for West Coast employees of FCIC,
Data Bits for the employees of Component Test Systems of San Jose, California and Bear Facts for bipolar employees. Most runs
are short and do not cover more than two years. This subseries is arranged alphabetically by newsletter title.
Arrangement
This subseries is arranged alphabetically by newsletter title.
102710176
Bear facts: a newsletter by and for bipolar employees
1981-1982
102710177
Circuit writer
1983
102710178
Data bits
1982-1983
102710179
Gatorator
1985-1986
102710180
Pacific circuit
1978-1980
box 2
Other printed
circa 1975-1984
Physical Description: 2 folders
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
This subseries contains miscellaneous FCIC and Schlumberger annual reports and Fairchild Semiconductor and FCIC brochures.
Arrangement
This subseries is arranged alphabetically by function.
102710181
Annual reports
1978-1984
102710182
Brochures
circa 1975-circa 1982
box 2
Robert K. Waits papers
circa 1965-circa 1973
Collector:
Waits, Robert K.
Physical Description: 9 folders
Series Scope and Content Summary
This series contains articles written by Waits, brochures, organizational charts, clippings, and a few photographs. One item
of interest is a paper from a Fairchild Semiconductor micrologic familiarization program designed for sales personnel.
Arrangement
This series is arranged in 3 subseries:
- Printed
- Photographs
- Miscellaneous unprinted
box 2
Printed
1959-1977
Physical Description: 5 folders
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
This subseries contains reprints of technical articles written by Waits, a preprint of a book chapter by Gordon Moore, technical
process and product brochures and promotional brochures from FCIC and Fairchild Semiconductor, including a recruitment brochure
and a Welcome to Fairchild brochure for new employees at the Mountain View, California plant. Found with the brochures are
two memos from Gordon Moore. This subseries also includes clippings about the financial state of FCIC, two shareholder meeting
reports and a few miscellaneous Fairchild Semiconductor newsletters.
Arrangement
This subseries is arranged alphabetically by function.
102710183
Articles by Robert K. Waits
1966-1971
102710184
Brochures
1959-1977
102710185
Clippings
1969-1973
102710186
Preprint of Semiconductor integrated circuits to be published as chapter 5 of Principles of microelectronic
engineering
1962
box 2
Photographs
circa 1960-circa 1975
Physical Description: 1 folder
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
This subseries contains a photograph of a Fairchild hybrid circuit for a Medtronics heart pacer, a photograph of a poster
illustrating "improved thin film resistors for radiation environments" and an unidentified photograph of a device.
102710187
Hybrid circuit
circa 1960-circa 1975
box 2
Miscellaneous unprinted
1969-1971
Physical Description: 3 folders
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
This subseries contains handwritten research and development organizational charts with related memoranda and newsletters
and a paper used in a micrologic familiarization program to help sales personnel by giving them a general understanding of
digital computers and their terminology. There is also a set of graphs illustrating different relationships in silicon.
Arrangement
This subseries is arranged alphabetically by folder title.
102710188
Graphs
circa 1965
102710189
Micrologic familiarization for sales personnel
circa 1965
102710190
Organizational charts
1969-1971
box 2
Lars Lunn papers
circa 1958-1959
Collector:
Lunn, Lars
Physical Description: 3 folders
Series Scope and Content Summary
This series contains graphs used in processing operations, early Fairchild Semiconductor brochures and a photograph of Lunn
growing crystals at Fairchild Semiconductor.
Arrangement
This series is arranged alphabetically by function.
102710191
Brochures
1958-1959
102710192
Graphs used in processing operations
circa 1958
102710193
Photograph of Lars Lunn growing crystals
1958-02