Integrated Circuit Archives

The Mayor of Silicon Valley: Robert Noyce’s Journey from Pig Thief to Tech Titan

July 17, 2025December 13, 2025 vlsifacts No Comments

A small-town Iowa boy, caught red-handed stealing a pig for a college prank, goes on to shape the modern world as the co-inventor of the microchip. This is the story of Robert Noyce, the man dubbed the “Mayor of Silicon Valley.” His life is a whirlwind of brilliance, rebellion, and innovation that transformed Silicon Valley…

Stories

What is MPW in VLSI

March 1, 2023June 18, 2025 vlsifacts No Comments

MPW stands for Multi-Project Wafer, which is a cost-effective way to prototype integrated circuits. In an MPW, multiple projects share a single wafer during the fabrication process, which enables lower costs by spreading the cost of the wafer among multiple projects. Typically, several customers with small designs collaborate to share the costs of the wafer…