ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the factors that enabled Silicon Valley to emerge as the leading microelectronics center in the world. "Silicon" refers to the key ingredient used in the making of a semiconductor chip and the "Valley" refers to the flat landscape of Santa Clara County which is surrounded on the east by the Diablo mountain range and the Santa Cruz mountain range to the west. The discovery of the transistor was the breakthrough that launched Silicon Valley into singular prominence as the world's largest concentration of innovative industry. The Silicon Valley business culture played a predominant part in harnessing and exploiting the characteristics of the industry. The synergistic characteristics in Silicon Valley that created the microelectronic revolution laid the foundation for its growth. As the semiconductor industry discovered new commercial applications with broader and wider markets, it began to deemphasize government sales and sought bigger consumer and industrial markets worldwide.
