In 1969, he left HP and joined Fairchild Semiconductor. He was the vice president and general manager of the Microwave & Optoelectronics division, from its inception in May 1969 up until November 1971. He continued his work on light-emitting diodes (LEDs), proposing they could be used for indicator lights and optical readers in 1971. He later left Fairchild in 1972.