Scope and Methodology Secondary literature sources provided the basic data for industry history. Technical publications and journals, trade magazines, academic monographs, and other analyses of engineering and scientific advances important to the evolution of the semiconductor industry were surveyed. The design for the research and its implementation were carried out by faculty members and a doctoral degree candidate at the Carnegie Mellon University. Research and development for technological advance in the semiconductor industry was conducted in many areas. Choosing three such closely related technologies helped the research focus on the dynamics of technological advance where firms in an industry are pursuing a broad and diverse array of innovative activities simultaneously.
Innovative activities are complementary and reinforce the general process of technological advance.
The backgrounds of firms in the semiconductor and related industries account for the diversity in their research activities. The earliest firms entering the field were mainly those from the electronics industry. Large businesses producing vacuum tubes, such as Raytheon and RCA, were the main early entrants into the industry in the early 1950s. They dominated the production of semiconductor devices in the early years. At this stage there were only a few firms established specifically to enter the semiconductor industry.