Silicon Valley is an economic large urban agglomeration in which more than half of the technical and scientific potential in the electronics industry is concentrated. It is located on the Californian territory of the San Francisco Peninsula and stretches from west to east. Its area is about 900 km2. The valley got its name from the chemical element silicon (English name - silicon), which is widely used in the production of semiconductor devices.
Silicon Valley is a relative concept. It is not marked on maps and has no borders. Currently, this term is used to refer to the financial zone, in which the large cities of Palo Alto, San Jose, Sunnyvale, Los Altos, Santa Clara are concentrated. This phrase first appeared in 1971 thanks to the journalist Don Hofler.
Silicon Valley USA is America's third hotbed of technology in terms of the number of employees working in the field of IT technologies. Almost 40%engineers employed in the information systems industry live here with their families. More than three thousand main centers, corporations, start-ups, innovative companies are concentrated in this area. They are engaged in the creation of high-tech software, microcircuits, biotechnologies, mobile communication devices, etc. The intensive development of electronic and information technologies in this place is associated with the financing and investment of start-up companies, the close location of large cities and the collective work of leading American universities.
Silicon Valley began its historical journey in 1951. At that time Terman Fred (vice president of Stanford University located here) began to lease land to raise funds for the rapid development of high-tech research. The range of tenants was limited to high-tech companies that could be useful for the research work of the university. In a couple of decades, the valley became the world center of the electronics industry.
Fairchild Semiconductor played a big role in the well-known name, which became the first in the world to introduce devices using a silicon (silicone) integrated circuit into production. In the future, this company became the creator of new structural divisions, such as Philips Semiconductors, Intel, AMD, National Semiconductors. It is to them that Silicon Valley owes its name.
In Russia in 2009, a plan for a project called Skolkovo appeared. According to supporters of the innovation center, after some time it will be the Silicon Valley in Russia, the Russian analogue of the Californian valley. But opponents of the project are sure that it will be an offshore zone of privileged government companies.
It is planned to create attractive places for programmers, scientists, designers, engineers and financiers to work in this center near Moscow. In the future, Russian specialists will create competitive technologies here. The main goal of the project is to stop the flow of Russian scientists, specialists and promising students abroad and to return those who left to the country. To date, Skolkovo has already recruited staff who will be able to start their fruitful activities in the near future.
