| Fairchild uL914 Integrated Circuit | |
| Written by AnubisTTP on 2026-10-25 |
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In 1959 when Texas Instruments was working towards the creation of the world's first integrated circuit, others were racing towards the finish line from a different direction. A team at Fairchild Semiconductor, headed by an influential group of semiconductor engineers known as the "Tratorous Eight", produced their own integrated circuit technology and announced it to the world mere months after Texas Instruments revealed their device. Fairchild's integrated circuit was manufactured using a radically different technology than the Texas Instruments devices; instead of being built from single transistor dies wired by hand with bond wires, the Fairchild device was built using a complex system of chemical treatments and photographic masks to etch wires directly into a single silicon die. Fairchild's first commercially produced integrated circuit, the uL914, was released in 1961. The uL914 is a RTL duel input NOR gate, and was the first device in Fairchild's 'Micrologic' series of parts. The uL914 is unusual in the realm of collectible electronic 'firsts' in that it is common enough that modern-day collectors can easily obtain one. Unlike most other historic parts which were only produced in small quantities, the uL914 was in production for many years and examples are still readily available on the used market. The device shown here was manufactured in 1970.
The subject of the first integrated circuit is a thorny situation for historians and collectors; Texas Instruments beat Fairchild's announcement of the integrated circuit by four months, but it is the Fairchild 'monolithic' integrated circuit from which all modern devices are descended. Collectors routinely get into furious debate over which device should be considered 'first'. The situation is made worse by the uL914 being common and available while first generation Texas Instruments devices like the SN514 are impossibly rare. Collectors who have been unable to find a part from the SN514 family are uncomfortable giving a crown to a device they will never own, while the few who have Texas Instruments devices through luck or fabulous expense are unwilling to see their possessions devalued by a 'second place' winner.
Fairchild uL914 NOR gate, at rest. The Fairchild uL914 has the distinction of being the world's first monolithic integrated circuit.
The Fairchild uL914 had a long production life, and many examples were produced. The part shown here was manufactured in 1970.
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