There are a range of integrated circuits that most of us would regard as definitive examples of their type, devices which became the go-to for a particular function and which have entered our collective consciousness as electronics enthusiasts. They have been in production since the early days of consumer integrated circuits, remaining in use because of a comprehensive understanding of their characteristics among engineers, and the job they do well.

You can probably name the ones I’m going to rattle off here, the µA741 op-amp designed by David Fullagar for Fairchild in 1968, the NE555 timer from Hans Camenzind for Signetics in 1971, and a personal favourite, Bob Widlar’s µA723 linear regulator for Fairchild in 1967. There may be a few others that readers will name in the comments, but there’s one that until today it’s likely that few of you would have considered. Texas Instruments’ 5400 and 7400 TTL quad 2-input NAND gate has been in continuous production since 1964 and is the progenitor of what is probably the most numerous breed of integrated circuits, yet it doesn’t trip off the tongue when listing famous chips, and none of us can name its designer. So today we’re turning the spotlight on this neglected piece of silicon, and trying to bring it the adulation it deserves.

Can you name this anonymous IC designer?

As semiconductor logic emerged through the 1950s and into the 1960s, there were a number of competing technologies in the field. Diode logic, diode-transistor logic, resistor-transistor logic, and others were all contenders that found their way into the early generations of solid state computers. Each technology had its adherent companies, but each came with associated limitations in the form of low speed, excessive power consumption, or demanding power supply requirements. Transistor-transistor logic, or TTL, was conceived in 1961 by James L. Buie at TRW Inc, and held the promise of reasonable power consumption at higher clock speeds, respectable speed, and a single low-voltage power rail. First to market with TTL were Sylvania in 1963, with TI following in 1964 with the 5400 metal flat-pack military TTL series, and in 1966 with the plastic-packaged 7400 variants we know so well. The series expanded to cover every possible logical function from a plethora of manufacturers, and as the emerging industry standard by the end of the decade entire mini and microcomputers were being constructed using only 74-series TTL chips. Designs using them were in the minds of the first microprocessor designers, and their influence was clear on the CPUs of the 1970s that used 74-style 5 V logic levels.