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William Bell Hugle, a semiconductor entrepreneur and one of the founders of SEMI, died at his home in Mesa, Arizona, on October 14, 2003, at age 76. He held 30 patents in semiconductor processing, helped build Siliconix and Hugle Industries, and helped establish an industry association whose first SEMICON trade show followed in 1971.
Who was William Hugle?
Hugle was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on March 30, 1927. He earned a bachelor of science in chemistry and physics from the University of Chicago in 1947 and later received a master of science degree from the University of Cincinnati. After college, he started a materials research firm, then joined Westinghouse and moved to California to build and manage the company’s first semiconductor facility.
His career combined semiconductor manufacturing, equipment development, company-building, and industry organizing. He held 30 patents in semiconductor processing, according to his 2003 obituary in EDN.
What companies did William Hugle start?
Hugle co-founded Siliconix and founded Hugle Industries. The San Francisco Chronicle obituary described Hugle Industries as one of the five leading semiconductor-equipment companies of the 1960s.
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His work at Hugle Industries also helped expose a gap in the young semiconductor business: equipment and materials companies lacked a dedicated industry association and trade show. Hugle proposed creating both, turning entrepreneurship into institution-building for the wider sector.
Was William Hugle a founder of SEMI?
Yes. SEMI’s official history timeline identifies Bill Hugle, Fred Kulicke, and John Dannelly as the organization’s founders in 1970. The group’s first SEMICON show took place in 1971, with 80 exhibitors and 2,800 attendees, according to the timeline.
EDN reports that a July 1970 organizing meeting drew 55 companies. Hugle contacted Kulicke, and the two secured support from Dannelly. In a SEMI oral-history interview, Mary Law recalled, “He and Fred Kulicke are considered the founders,” and said Dannelly was credited as the third co-founder. She also described Hugle’s support for the new association’s office, newsletter, and public-relations work.
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SEMI’s articles of incorporation list W. B. Hugle as an initial director. That corporate record supports his formal role in the organization alongside the historical account of its founding.
What did William Hugle invent?
Hugle held 30 patents in semiconductor processing. The available accounts establish the breadth of his patented process work, but do not identify a single specific physical product as his defining invention.
One idea he discussed was lensless lithography. EDN quoted Hugle saying, “I know that conventional refractive lithography technology is reaching its limits, so we simply have to eliminate the lenses. When I heard about this approach, I immediately felt that this might be the answer.” The quote reflects his interest in alternatives to conventional lens-based lithography; it does not, by itself, establish that he invented or commercialized a particular lensless system.
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What else did Hugle do?
Hugle ran for Congress as a Democrat in 1972. The Chronicle obituary reported that he advocated withdrawing U.S. troops from Vietnam, ending prosecutions for marijuana use, and strengthening consumer and environmental protections.
When did William Hugle die?
Hugle died on October 14, 2003, at his home in Mesa, Arizona, aged 76. Contemporary obituaries agree on the date, location, and age. EDN attributed his death to cancer; the Chronicle specified complications from lung cancer.
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