How did early integrated circuits change from 1960 to 1970?

Between 1960 and 1970, integrated circuits (ICs) underwent a dramatic increase in complexity and density. At the beginning of the decade, early integrated circuits contained approximately 10 individual components on a silicon chip measuring 3 mm (0.12 inch) square. By 1970, manufacturing advancements allowed for as many as 1,000 components to be integrated onto a chip of the same size, all while maintaining the same production cost.1

This rapid evolution was driven by the steady miniaturization of transistors and improvements in fabrication processes, such as the planar manufacturing technique. During this period, the industry also saw a shift in the types of transistors used; by the end of the decade, metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistors began to displace bipolar junction transistors in microchip manufacturing. These developments laid the essential groundwork for the introduction of the first microprocessor in 1971, which integrated the core functions of a computer’s central processing unit onto a single chip.123