SEMI's Great Moments in Semiconductor History: The conception of the SEMICON trade show is a milestone that marks the emergence of the semiconductor equipment industry.
Fred Kulicke (left) and William Hugle (right) conceived the SEMICON show in 1970 and the first show was held a year later at the San Mateo Fairgrounds in California with Philip Gregory (center) as the show manager. There were ~80 exhibitors at the first show and 2800 people attended it. In the decade that followed, the SEMICON shows have helped mold the once-fragmented semiconductor materials and equipment business into a cohesive industry. With it, what would become known as SEMI, was founded at the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials Institute with 55 companies as initial members. Gregory was the first head of SEMI and he would lead it well into the 1980s as the show eventually outgrew the fairgrounds and had to be moved to Moscone Center. The first SEMICON would become know as West when new shows were created around the world.
(No. 4 in a series of paintings by Jim deLeon commemorating Great Moments in Semiconductor History," commissioned by the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials Institute.)
©1980. SEMI
