Jerry D. Merryman, who was selected as the project manager, came up with the logic designs for the calculator in three days. James H. Van Tassel, who had been working on research and development of semiconductor components at Texas Instruments, also joined the team. Together, Kilby, Merryman, and Van Tassel began work on the calculator in October 1965. Although the machine did no go into actual production for three years, the prototype had been made. The calculator's use of integrated circuits was a departure from from anything that had been done before.
Modern arrays incorporate millions of devices.
The packaging of the integrated circuit posed a problem. Most circuits had 14 or 16 leads. Ours had 120. We were on new ground. The quality of the two-inch wafers available at the time was not assured.