Glasslike silicon dioxide has been the insulator of choice in electronic chips since 1959, when Bob Noyce cobbled together the first silicon integrated circuit--wires and switches etched into silicon insulation.

FORBES: Magazine Article

In 1959 Robert Noyce of Fairchild Semiconductor and Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments each invented the integrated circuit, etching a transistor onto a two- dimensional chip of silicon.

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