Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory (site) (Mountain View, California)

 place with historical importance, lab, semiconductors

 Upload a photo

The Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Mountain View, founded by William Shockley in 1956, was the first company in the research and production of semiconductors based on silicon. Although their century was short-lived, it laid the foundation for inventions that emerged from the valley over the next several decades. Until recently, the place of the laboratory was occupied by a grocery store and the only monument of historical significance was a small sign and a memorial plaque on the sidewalk. Now the construction of a new office and retail complex (2018) is nearing completion in this area, and a modest memorial was included in the development. The memorial to the present birthplace of Silicon Valley includes giant transistors and diodes, as well as an original tablet. There are also some new interpretive signs on the wall telling the story of how many famous companies can trace their origins to this very place. William Shockley, within 20 years, founded more than 65 companies, including such as Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).