All Topics  
Federico Faggin

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Federico Faggin
 
 
  Topics Federico Faggin Topic Home

Federico Faggin (born December 1 1941 in Vicenza) is an Italian
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
-born physicist
Physicist

A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many Physics#Major fields of physics spanning all length scales: from atom particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole ....
/electrical engineer, principally responsible for the design of the first microprocessor
Microprocessor

A microprocessor incorporates most or all of the functions of a central processing unit on a single integrated circuit . The first microprocessors emerged in the early 1970s and were used for electronic calculators, using Binary-coded decimal arithmetic on 4-bit Word ....
 and responsible for leading the 4004 (MCS-4) project
Intel 4004

The Intel 4004 is a 4-bit central processing unit released by Intel Corporation in 1971. The 4004 is the first complete CPU on one chip, the first commercially available microprocessor, a feat made possible by the use of the new silicon gate technology allowing the integration of a higher number of transistors and a faster speed than was pos...
 to its successful outcome and for promoting its marketing. He also designed/led the design and was the vital force during the first five years of Intel's microprocessor effort. He continued to play a pacesetting role as founder and CEO of Zilog
Zilog

Zilog, Inc., often seen as ZiLOG , is a manufacturer of 8-bit, 16-bit, 24-bit, and 32-bit microprocessors, and is most famous for its Intel 8080-compatible Zilog Z80 series....
, the first company solely dedicated to microprocessors, for the next five years.

in Vicenza, Federico Faggin received a Laurea
Laurea

In Italy, the laurea is the main post-secondary academic degree.Until very recently, lauree took much longer to earn than undergraduate degrees elsewhere in Europe and North America....
 Degree in physics
Physics

Physics is the natural science which examines basic concepts such as energy, force, and spacetime and all that derives from these, such as mass, charge, matter and its Motion ....
, summa cum laude, at the University of Padua
University of Padua

The University of Padua , located in Padua, Italy, was founded in 1222. It is among the earliest of the university and the third oldest in Italy....
.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Federico Faggin'
Start a new discussion about 'Federico Faggin'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Federico Faggin (born December 1 1941 in Vicenza) is an Italian
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
-born physicist
Physicist

A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many Physics#Major fields of physics spanning all length scales: from atom particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole ....
/electrical engineer, principally responsible for the design of the first microprocessor
Microprocessor

A microprocessor incorporates most or all of the functions of a central processing unit on a single integrated circuit . The first microprocessors emerged in the early 1970s and were used for electronic calculators, using Binary-coded decimal arithmetic on 4-bit Word ....
 and responsible for leading the 4004 (MCS-4) project
Intel 4004

The Intel 4004 is a 4-bit central processing unit released by Intel Corporation in 1971. The 4004 is the first complete CPU on one chip, the first commercially available microprocessor, a feat made possible by the use of the new silicon gate technology allowing the integration of a higher number of transistors and a faster speed than was pos...
 to its successful outcome and for promoting its marketing. He also designed/led the design and was the vital force during the first five years of Intel's microprocessor effort. He continued to play a pacesetting role as founder and CEO of Zilog
Zilog

Zilog, Inc., often seen as ZiLOG , is a manufacturer of 8-bit, 16-bit, 24-bit, and 32-bit microprocessors, and is most famous for its Intel 8080-compatible Zilog Z80 series....
, the first company solely dedicated to microprocessors, for the next five years.

Life

Born in Vicenza, Federico Faggin received a Laurea
Laurea

In Italy, the laurea is the main post-secondary academic degree.Until very recently, lauree took much longer to earn than undergraduate degrees elsewhere in Europe and North America....
 Degree in physics
Physics

Physics is the natural science which examines basic concepts such as energy, force, and spacetime and all that derives from these, such as mass, charge, matter and its Motion ....
, summa cum laude, at the University of Padua
University of Padua

The University of Padua , located in Padua, Italy, was founded in 1222. It is among the earliest of the university and the third oldest in Italy....
. At age 19, after his graduation from technical high school A. Rossi (Vicenza), he took a job at Olivetti
Olivetti

Ing. C. Olivetti & Co., SpA., known as Olivetti, is an Italy manufacturer of computers, computer printers and other business machines....
, in Italy, where he co-designed and led the implementation of a small computer. After obtaining his university degree he worked at SGS Fairchild in Italy, where he developed SGS's first MOS process technology and designed its first integrated circuits. In 1968 he moved to Palo Alto and worked at Fairchild Semiconductor
Fairchild Semiconductor

Present day Fairchild Semiconductor International, Inc. is a spin-off company resulting from reconstitution of assets in National Semiconductor....
, where he created the MOS Silicon Gate technology, the basis of all modern CMOS computer chips. At Fairchild he produced the world's first commercial integrated circuit using Silicon Gate Technology: the Fairchild 3708.

In 1970 he joined Intel where Marcian (Ted) Hoff
Marcian Hoff

Marcian Edward "Ted" Hoff, Jr. , is one of the inventors of the microprocessor. Hoff, an engineer, joined Intel in 1967 as employee number 12, and is credited with coming up with the idea of a universal processor instead of custom-designed circuits....
, with Stanley Mazor
Stanley Mazor

Stanley Mazor is an American engineer who was born on 22 October 1941 in Chicago, Illinois. He was one of the designers of the world's first microprocessor, the Intel 4004, together with Ted Hoff, Masatoshi Shima, and Federico Faggin....
 and Intel's customer Masatoshi Shima
Masatoshi Shima

Masatoshi Shima was one of the designers of the world's first microprocessor, the Intel 4004, along with Marcian Hoff, Stanley Mazor, and Federico Faggin....
, had formulated a new architecture for a family of Busicom
Busicom

Busicom was a Japanese company that owned the rights to the first microprocessor but sold them back to Intel. They made electronic calculators and the first using the new Intel 4004 processor was the Busicom 141-PF...
 calculators. Federico Faggin was hired as project leader to implement such architecture, which had been idling for many months. Independently, and without any help from Hoff
Marcian Hoff

Marcian Edward "Ted" Hoff, Jr. , is one of the inventors of the microprocessor. Hoff, an engineer, joined Intel in 1967 as employee number 12, and is credited with coming up with the idea of a universal processor instead of custom-designed circuits....
 and Mazor, Faggin created a new methodology for random logic
Random logic

Random logic is a semiconductor circuit design technique that translates high-level logic descriptions directly into hardware features such as AND and OR gates....
 chip design using silicon gate technology, previously non existent, and several design innovations that made it possible to fit the microprocessor in one chip. He developed the chip and logic design together with the layout of all the chips of the 4004
Intel 4004

The Intel 4004 is a 4-bit central processing unit released by Intel Corporation in 1971. The 4004 is the first complete CPU on one chip, the first commercially available microprocessor, a feat made possible by the use of the new silicon gate technology allowing the integration of a higher number of transistors and a faster speed than was pos...
 family (MCS-4). He built the tester to prove that the 4004
Intel 4004

The Intel 4004 is a 4-bit central processing unit released by Intel Corporation in 1971. The 4004 is the first complete CPU on one chip, the first commercially available microprocessor, a feat made possible by the use of the new silicon gate technology allowing the integration of a higher number of transistors and a faster speed than was pos...
 could be used for applications different from calculators (Hoff
Marcian Hoff

Marcian Edward "Ted" Hoff, Jr. , is one of the inventors of the microprocessor. Hoff, an engineer, joined Intel in 1967 as employee number 12, and is credited with coming up with the idea of a universal processor instead of custom-designed circuits....
 and Mazor considered the 4004
Intel 4004

The Intel 4004 is a 4-bit central processing unit released by Intel Corporation in 1971. The 4004 is the first complete CPU on one chip, the first commercially available microprocessor, a feat made possible by the use of the new silicon gate technology allowing the integration of a higher number of transistors and a faster speed than was pos...
 good only for calculators), and successfully transferred the first microprocessor to production. During the project development he was assisted only by Masatoshi Shima
Masatoshi Shima

Masatoshi Shima was one of the designers of the world's first microprocessor, the Intel 4004, along with Marcian Hoff, Stanley Mazor, and Federico Faggin....
, who had come from Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
 to check on the progress and stayed-on to help, and a couple of technicians. Faggin also convinced Bob Noyce to negotiate the exclusivity clause, in order to open the marketing of the 4004
Intel 4004

The Intel 4004 is a 4-bit central processing unit released by Intel Corporation in 1971. The 4004 is the first complete CPU on one chip, the first commercially available microprocessor, a feat made possible by the use of the new silicon gate technology allowing the integration of a higher number of transistors and a faster speed than was pos...
 which originally was a custom design for Busicom
Busicom

Busicom was a Japanese company that owned the rights to the first microprocessor but sold them back to Intel. They made electronic calculators and the first using the new Intel 4004 processor was the Busicom 141-PF...
.

The design methodology created by Faggin was utilized for the implementation of all Intel’s early microprocessors. The 8008
Intel 8008

The Intel 8008 was an early byte-oriented microprocessor designed and manufactured by Intel and introduced in April 1972. Originally known as the 1201, the chip was commissioned by Computer Terminal Corporation to implement an instruction set designed for their Datapoint 2200 programmable terminal....
 development was originally assigned to Hal Feeney in March 1970 but was suspended until the 4004 was completed. It was resumed in January 1971 and Hal Feeney did the detailed design under Faggin’s direction and following his new methodology. Faggin developed the architectures and led the development of the 8080
Intel 8080

The Intel 8080 was an early microprocessor designed and manufactured by Intel. The 8-bit microprocessor was released in April 1974 running at 2 megahertz , and is generally considered to be the first truly usable microprocessor....
 and the 4040
Intel 4040

The Intel 4040 microprocessor was the successor to the Intel 4004. It was introduced in 1974. The 4040 employed a 10 micrometre silicon-gate enhancement load PMOS logic technology, was made up of 3,000 transistors and could execute approximately 60,000 instructions per second....
 microprocessors. When Faggin left Intel at the end of 1974 to found Zilog
Zilog

Zilog, Inc., often seen as ZiLOG , is a manufacturer of 8-bit, 16-bit, 24-bit, and 32-bit microprocessors, and is most famous for its Intel 8080-compatible Zilog Z80 series....
 with Ralph Ungermann, he was department manager for MOS Research and Development with almost 80 engineers reporting to him and more than a dozen of products under development.

Zilog was the first company entirely dedicated to microprocessors while Intel was principally dedicated to memories. At Zilog
Zilog

Zilog, Inc., often seen as ZiLOG , is a manufacturer of 8-bit, 16-bit, 24-bit, and 32-bit microprocessors, and is most famous for its Intel 8080-compatible Zilog Z80 series....
, Faggin conceived the architecture of the Z80 microprocessor and helped Shima, who had joined the new company, in its design. He was Zilog's President and CEO until the end of 1980. In 1982, he co-founded Cygnet Technologies, Inc., maker of the Cygnet CoSystem personal telecommunications device, and was President and CEO of the company until 1986. In 1986 he co-founded and was CEO of Synaptics
Synaptics

Synaptics is a touchpad original equipment manufacturer provider for most major computer and laptop companies, such as Asus, Acer , Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Sony, Toshiba, Gateway Computers, IBM, Lenovo, Samsung, Packard Bell and several others....
 a company which produces the most widely used touchpad
Touchpad

A touchpad is a pointing device consisting of specialized surface that can translate the motion and position of a user's fingers to a relative position on screen....
 in the industry. He is presently CEO of Foveon
Foveon

Foveon, Inc., is the company that makes the Foveon X3 sensor, which captures images in digital Single-lens reflex camera such as the Sigma Corporation Sigma_SD9, Sigma_SD10 and Sigma_SD14, as well as in the compacts Dp1 and Polaroid X530....
 Inc., a company making image sensors with a novel technology.

Original articles on Silicon Gate Technology


Faggin, F., Klein, T., and Vadasz, L. :"Insulated Gate Field Effect Transistor Integrated Circuits with Silicon Gates", presented at the IEEE International Electron Device Meeting. Washington, D.C., October 1968

Federico Faggin and Thomas Klein.: "A Faster Generation of MOS Devices with Low Thresholds is Riding the Crest of the New Wave, Silicon-Gate IC's". "Electronics", September 29, 1969

F. Faggin, T. Klein: "Silicon-Gate Technology". "Solid State Electronics", 1970, Vo. 13, pp. 1125-1144

Original articles on the MCS-4, the first microprocessor


F. Faggin and M. E. Hoff: "Standard Parts and Custom Design Merge in a Four-chip Processor Kit". "Electronics" , April 24, 1972

F. Faggin, et al: "The MCS-4 An LSI Microcomputer System". "IEEE 1972 Region Six Conference"

Awards

  • 1988: Marconi International Fellowship Award
    Marconi Foundation

    The Guglielmo Marconi International Fellowship Foundation, briefly called Marconi Foundation and currently known as the Marconi Society, was established by Gioia Marconi Braga in 1974 to commemorate the centennial of the birth of his father Guglielmo Marconi)....
     "for his pioneering contributions to the implementation of the microprocessor, a principal building block of modern telecommunications"
  • 1988: Gold Medal for Science and Technology from the Italian Prime Minister
  • 1988: title of "Grande Ufficiale" from the President of the Italian Republic
  • 1994: IEEE W. Wallace McDowell Award "for his outstanding contributions to the computer field through the development of the Silicon Gate Process, and the first commercial microprocessor"
  • 1994: a doctorate honoris causa in Computer Science from the University of Milan
    University of Milan

    The University of Milan is one of the largest university in Italy, with about 62,801 students, a teaching and research staff of 2,455 and a non-teaching staff of 2,200....
     (Italy).
  • 1996: Ronald H. Brown American Innovator Award, with M. Hoff
    Marcian Hoff

    Marcian Edward "Ted" Hoff, Jr. , is one of the inventors of the microprocessor. Hoff, an engineer, joined Intel in 1967 as employee number 12, and is credited with coming up with the idea of a universal processor instead of custom-designed circuits....
     and S. Mazor
    Stanley Mazor

    Stanley Mazor is an American engineer who was born on 22 October 1941 in Chicago, Illinois. He was one of the designers of the world's first microprocessor, the Intel 4004, together with Ted Hoff, Masatoshi Shima, and Federico Faggin....
  • 1996: a Lifetime Achievement Award by P.C. Magazine for "technical excellence".
  • 1997: Kyoto Prize
    Kyoto Prize

    The Kyoto Prize has been awarded annually since 1985 by the Inamori Foundation, founded by Kazuo Inamori. The prize is a Japanese award similar in intent to the Nobel Prize, as it recognizes outstanding works in the fields of philosophy, arts, science and technology....
    , with M. Hoff
    Marcian Hoff

    Marcian Edward "Ted" Hoff, Jr. , is one of the inventors of the microprocessor. Hoff, an engineer, joined Intel in 1967 as employee number 12, and is credited with coming up with the idea of a universal processor instead of custom-designed circuits....
    , S. Mazor and M. Shima
  • 1996: inducted into National Inventors Hall of Fame
    National Inventors Hall of Fame

    The is the premier not-for-profit organization in America dedicated to recognizing, honoring and encouraging invention and creativity through the administration of its programs....
    , with M. Hoff and S. Mazor
  • 1997: George R. Stibitz Computer Pioneer Award by the American Computer Museum, with M. Hoff and S. Mazor
  • 2001: Dr. Robert Noyce Memorial Award by the Semiconductor Industry Association, with M. Hoff and S. Mazor
  • 2003: doctorate honoris causa in Electronic Engineering from the University of Rome Tor Vergata
    University of Rome Tor Vergata

    The University of Rome Tor Vergata is a university located in Rome, Italy, and founded in 1982....
     (Italy)
  • 2003: AeA/Stanford
    Stanford University

    Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private university research university located in Stanford, California, California, United States....
     Executive Institute Award for Outstanding Achievement in the High Tech Industry by an Alumnus
  • 2006: European Inventor of the Year
    European Inventor of the Year

    The European Inventor of the Year awards are presented annually by the European Patent Organisation and the European Commission's Directorate-General Enterprise and Industry to inventors who have made a significant contribution to innovation in Europe....
     Lifetime Achievement Award by EPO (European Patent Office)
  • 2008; Honorary Doctor Degree in Electronic Engineering from the University of Palermo
    University of Palermo

    The University of Palermo is a university located in Palermo, Italy, and founded in 1806. It is organized in 12 Faculties....
     (Italy)


Federico Faggin is currently the CEO of Foveon
Foveon

Foveon, Inc., is the company that makes the Foveon X3 sensor, which captures images in digital Single-lens reflex camera such as the Sigma Corporation Sigma_SD9, Sigma_SD10 and Sigma_SD14, as well as in the compacts Dp1 and Polaroid X530....
, a Santa Clara (CA) company with a new technology for developing image sensors used in digital photography. He is also chairman of Synaptics
Synaptics

Synaptics is a touchpad original equipment manufacturer provider for most major computer and laptop companies, such as Asus, Acer , Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Sony, Toshiba, Gateway Computers, IBM, Lenovo, Samsung, Packard Bell and several others....
 and Zilog
Zilog

Zilog, Inc., often seen as ZiLOG , is a manufacturer of 8-bit, 16-bit, 24-bit, and 32-bit microprocessors, and is most famous for its Intel 8080-compatible Zilog Z80 series....
.

External links

  • : Federico Faggin first presented the new Silicon Gate Technology he created at Fairchild at the IEDM in 1968.
  • : Featuring the Fairchild 3708, the world's first integrated circuit using Silicon Gate Technology, designed by Federico Faggin in 1968.