The global semiconductor industry is growing by about 12.2% each year, and by 2029, according to Fortune Business Insights, it is almost $1.4 trillion. This forecast clearly reflects the enviable health of this market, but there is something more important that should not be overlooked: semiconductors for major powers are a strategic sector. This is the reason for the current tension between China and the US-led alliance.

Chips surround us. They are everywhere. On our electronic devices. In our cars. In telecommunication equipment that allows us to connect to the Internet. And also in the most advanced weapons that the armies of the great powers have. In fact, the most advanced weapons would not be possible without the most advanced integrated circuits, which inevitably leads us to identify the essential role that semiconductors have for the military industry.

The current situation invites us to acknowledge that weapons development is closely linked to the refining of chips, but there was a moment not far away when the military industry was backing it. development of semiconductors. It is paradoxical in a way, but from whatever perspective we observe it, we can conclude that the weapons and semiconductor industries go hand in hand. And in the future, they will undoubtedly continue to be closely linked.

Ignacio Mártil de la Plaza, PhD in Physics and Professor of Electronics at the Complutense University of Madrid, in his book “Radar in the History of the 20th Century” the early years of the Cold War. This device was instrumental at the height of this conflict, but those interested in this confrontation often overlook the fact that the radar program led to semiconductor research and subsequently the invention of the transistor as we know it, the tiny device that made possible the existence of the transistor. chips that transform our world.

Switching from thermionic tubes to transistors won a battle

“The atomic bomb may have ended the war, but the radar won the war.” Ignacio Mártil chose this quote from Lee Alvin DuBridge, director of the MIT Radiation Laboratory from 1940 to 1946, to keep us guessing in the first pages of his book. critical role of radar World War decision. Both the Nazis and the Allies had it, but British and American scientists were able to improve the performance of their radars in the final years of this conflict enough to outperform the device that Nazi Germany had.

The transistor was officially invented on December 16, 1947 at Bell Laboratories in New Jersey, United States. Just a few months ago we commemorated the 75th anniversary of the tremendous success of John Bardeen, Walter H. Brattain and William. B. Shockley, however, During World War II, the program dedicated to the development of radar supported research in the field of semiconductors.

During the Battle of Britain (commonly known as the Battle of Britain), which took place in the early months of the conflict between July and October 1940, both the British and Germans became aware of the radars they had at the time. they had two shortcomings very important: both the maximum detection distance of a target and the ability to accurately determine its echo were very limited.

From that moment on, Nazi Germany and its allies entered a wild race whose goal was to improve the performance of their radar, although their success was not equal. The British and Americans were quick to solve the first problem of limited maximum sensing distance by resorting to a device known as a magnetron. However, in order to improve the resolution of their radar and provide clear identification of the echo of a particular target, it was crucial that the equipment could operate in the microwave range.

But they ran into a problem: Thermionic or vacuum tubes used in radars had very poor response at high frequencies, and especially at microwave frequencies. If they want to drastically increase the resolution of their radar it was very important to ban the valves and to develop basic research in semiconductors and detector manufacturing technology. It didn’t take long for silicon and germanium to emerge as the dominant semiconductor elements, just as a result of research done at that time.

The radar program, supported by the Allies, was successful. Two major limitations hindering its performance were removed, putting its radar in a position of clear superiority over German radar. The fact that this advantage is decisive on the field in the medium term leads us to Lee A. DuBridge’s idea that “Radar won the war”, which we noticed a few lines above. And as we just saw, innovations in semiconductors made this possible and ushered in the era of integrated circuits, in which we are still completely immersed.

Cover photo: information

Source: “Radar in 20th century history”By Ignacio Martil de la Plaza

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