Los Angeles, the fastest-growing electronics area in the U.S., is again host city for Wescon. With a brand-new showplace for its exhibits and technical sessions, Wescon's increase in quality is expected to keep pace with its increase in quantity.
More than 200 authors and panelists are scheduled to speak to about 35,000 engineers. A single site, Los Angeles' Memorial Sports Arena, just past its first birthday, will house 987 exhibit booths and 44 technical sessions.
In the session on microminiaturization, Motorola and Fairchild Semiconductor will present first-time papers on their microelectronics techniques. Motorola's J.R. Black will talk about the "Design and Fabrication of a Microelectronic IF Amplifier," and Fairchild engineers will speak on Fairchild's new "Solid-State Micrologic Elements." Fairchild's element will be shown in the company's booth. Pacific Semiconductor's T.C. Hall will report on PSI's successful surface passivation of microcomponents, a technique that enables the company to build microcomponents without a glass or metal container. (Electronic Design, Aug. 3, 1960, p. 26)
Los Angeles was the west-coast center for the electronics industry. At that time, Silicon Valley was still running a distant second to L.A. Another article in this issue reported that in 1959, Los Angeles had 461 electronics firms with 84,000 employees, while the peninsular area of San Francisco had 144 companies with 35,000 employees.
