[Commemorative] History of Junction Technologies

Hiroshi Iwai

History of Junction Technologies

Commemorative talk for the 75th anniversary of the transistor

IWJT 2023; T-Cosponsored by IEEE EDS; 

Kyoto (J) June 8-9, 2023

1 International College of Semiconductor Technology, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
2 Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan

Abstract: In this paper, I describe the history of junction technologies for ICT (Information and Communication Technology) devices. Junctions serve as functional interfaces between materials in these devices. Over the past 200 years, since the inception of electrical engineering, a wide range of junction technologies have been developed as key components for device operation, playing a significant role in advancing intelligence in human society.

FIG: The first idea of FET (MISFET) by J. Lilienfeld "Method and apparatus for controlling electric current", Canadian Patent CA272437TA, filed October 22, 1925

Acknowledgements: I [author: Hiroshi Iwai] would like to express my sincere appreciation to the Tokyo Institute of Technology Library for granting me access to historically significant documents. The information available on the Computer History Museum (CHM) website was instrumental in understanding the timeline of device development. I am deeply grateful to Prof. Kazuo Tsutsui of Tokyo Institute of Technology for providing me with a conducive environment to concentrate on writing this manuscript. I would also like to extend my gratitude to the IWJT committee members for granting me the valuable opportunity to document the history of junction technologies, logic and memory device technologies, as well as reviewing the lengthy manuscript. In particular, I am grateful to Dr. Michael Current for his meticulous review of the manuscript. Finally, I would like to thank my colleagues in both industry and academia who have dedicated their time and expertise to the advancement of integrated circuit technology over the years.