Silicon Valley is the home of the largest technology corporations in the U.S. It is located in Northern California, within the southern region of San Francisco. Silicon Valley was first given its name because of the many silicon chip creators and manufacturers there.
Microprocessor technology was developed in Silicon Valley along with other vital computing technologies. These have contributed to the high-level operating systems used today.
Besides the microprocessor, Silicon Valley experts also created the microcomputer, or PC. They also used the Fairchild Semiconductor, which used silicon as the main semiconductor material. Two of the top semiconductor innovators, Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore, later formed Intel. By the 1970s, many of the biggest computer companies in the United States went on to include silicon semiconductors in their computer equipment, programming and services.
Other widely used technologies developed in Silicon Valley include the mouse and hypertext computer-association tools.
In recent years, Silicon Valley computer companies have been developing Internet services and various software, in addition to high-tech operating systems and user interfaces. Because of the high-tech production and software production that occurs in this area, the Silicon Valley has been heralded as having the highest-paying information technology jobs in the U.S.