Nick Holonyak is professor of engineering at
the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.
He received a bachelor's degree in
electrical engineering in 1950 and a Ph.D. in
electrical engineering, both from the
University of Illinois. He was one of the
first graduate students to work in John
Bardeen's semiconductor laboratory when it
began work in 1952. After completing his work at
the University of Illinois, including two
years in Bardeen's laboratory, Holonyak
went on to work at Bell Laboratories with John
Moll, where he and Moll made the first
diffused silicon transistors and switches,
metaleized silicon, and generally developed the
technology behind the rise of Silicon
Valley and today's chips. Before returning to
the University of Illinois as a professor,
Holonyak also served in the Army and
worked at GE.
Roughly the first half of the interview
centers on an article Holonyak and Moll have in
progress, which aims to distinguish
between the contributions made by John Bardeen
and Walter Brattain and those made by
William Shockley in the discovery of the
bipolar transistor. Holonyak states that Bardeen
and Brattain made the relevant experiments
and that the original bipolar transistor patent
is in Bardeen and Brattain's name.
Shockley's particular application of
injection was original to Shockley; but Holonyak
argues that Shockley applied ideas
originally developed by Bardeen and Brattain.
Holonyak's primary concern is to give
credit where it was due, and to demonstrate
that specific people make specific contributions
to projects; Holonyak indicates that he
wants to teach his students and others that
people, not environments, create ideas.
The MSS. that Holonyak refers to throughout
this section of the interview is a manuscript he
submitted to Physics Today but whichwas
published in Physics Today without the material
on Shockley. Holonyak considers the MSS.
to be a work-in-progress still, one he has
jointly produced with John Moll. The second half
of the interview focuses on Holonyak's
immigrant background, his early education at
Edwardsville High School, his academic career at
the University of Illinois, and the work
he did with Bardeen at Bardeen's semiconductor
laboratory and the work he did with John Moll at
Bell Laboratories. He mentions briefly his
work with the Army and describes in more detail
the work he did at GE, including work with
the controlled rectifier and with red LED.
The interview concludes with Holonyak speaking
warmly of his students' progress and
achievements. He declares that much work remains
to be done in the field of electronics and hopes
that young engineers will continue that work.
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1
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John Bardeen/Physics Today
article
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Electronics Magazine
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2
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Photo: Bardeen,
Brattain, Shockley
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Shockley not involved with
bipolar transistor discovery
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3
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Patent law
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Arriving at idea for
transistor
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4
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Bardeen signs photo
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Spring 1980 Electronics
Magazine
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5
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Physics Today
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John Bardeen
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6
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Bardeen and data; watching
measurement
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VP of Sharp, wants info on
transistor from transistor
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7
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Bardeen: theorists and
experimentalists
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8
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Brattain and Shockley
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1955 dinner at Bookbinder's
in Philadelphia
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Device Research Conference
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Bardeen/Brattain get John
Scott Medal
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9
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Bardeen and Shockley's death
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Bardeen refuses to write
obit for IEEE on Shockley
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10
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Bardeen and Shockley's obit
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injection, bipolar ideas
preceded Shockley
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11
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Shockley "jumped" patent,
ahead of Bardeen/Brattain
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12
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Shockley and p-n junction
theory
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P-n junction theory comes
after bipolar transistor and injection
phenomenon
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Argument in point-contact
transistor studies
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Argument about
positive-particle holes in n-type
material negative crystal
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John Shive made crystal in
form of wedge
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13
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Shockley:
disappointment, solid state amplifier
eluding him?
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Shockley's book
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14
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Publication--elimination of
"offensive" material
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Bell Lab's image as mecca
where great things happen
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People rather than
environment accomplish great things
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15
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Guesswork, arguments,
people's peculiarities fuel work
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Science and engineering not
necessarily cold
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Bardeen and death of Bernd
Matthias: superconductivity
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16
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BCS theory
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Bardeen's style
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First version of story;
second version
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17
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Editing
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John Moll
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Holonyak's election to
Academy of Engineering in 1973
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Holonyak and Academy of
Sciences
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Holonyak and Edison Medal
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18
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John Moll and Silicon Valley
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1954-55 rise of Silicon
Valley
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Mistakes in documenting,
propaganda etc.
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19
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John Moll and silicon
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Mother; memorization and
learning
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20
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Holonyak researches, writes,
works with Moll on article
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MSS he gives interviewer
(Nebeker) is incomplete Moll/Holonyak
MSS.
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21
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1956 conversation with
Kikuchi; Kikuchi at MITI ETL, then Sony
Silicon
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Shockley; Bob Noyce
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Fairchild
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Bell Labs as beginning
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Jim Goldey, George Bensti,
Tannenbaum worked with Moll and Holonyak
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22
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P-n-p-n switch work done
under Moll
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GE makes SCR
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Holonyak at Bell Labs, GE
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GE and controlled rectifier
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Proceedings of IEEE; Physics
Today as possible publishers
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23
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Coursework in EE, also
physics and math
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Engineer: building
things
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Has worked on silicon, feels
like an engineer
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Esaki and tunnel diodes
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Liquid helium
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24
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Phonon effects in
semiconductors
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Engineering/physics --
differences in knowledge
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"Physikers" claiming
engineering history as their history
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Physical Society, Journal of
Applied Physics
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25
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IEEE should be in middle of
physics/engineering
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IEEE and science/engineering
interaction
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Inversion layer as Bardeen's
idea, first patent
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Transistor was Bardeen's
second patent
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Bardeen and BCS theory,
semiconductor
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Bardeen in both physics and
engineering camps
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26
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Moll/Holonyak paper to
indicate that Silicon Valley began
outside of Silicon Valley,
in Bell Labs in New Jersey
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Rutgers/IEEE connection?
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Bob Noyce; Gordon Moor; Andy
Grove
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Heroes: Moll and
Bardeen
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27
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Noyce: first
integrated circuit, but built on others'
technology
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Figure, signed by Bardeen
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Collector characteristic of
point contact transistor
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28
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Oscilloscope trace
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Paul Coleman
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Bardeen "box" (transistor
oscillator-amplifier) in Physics
Today
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Tau Beta Pi magazine, photo
of Shockley/Bardeen/Brattain
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29
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Metal-semiconductor barrier
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Bardeen and p-n junctions
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Shockley not creator of p-n
junction; creator of idea of extending
injection to p-n junction
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Point: different
contributions, different individuals,
need to separate what
contributions were
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30
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Holonyak from Illinois;
family from Eastern Europe, Carpathian
mountains
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Joel Lebowitz
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31
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Family spoke English and
Carpatho-Russian, Hungarian
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32
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Immigrants put strong
emphasis on education
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Parents met in United States
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33
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Father knew history of coal
mining; John L. Lewis
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Born in Zeigler, IL; during
depression moved to IL side of St.
Louis
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34
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Edwardsville, IL
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Too young to go into WW2
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University of Illinois
crowded after war
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Univ. of Illinois extension
center in Granite City
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Sophomore year in Urbana
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35
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Radio, crystal sets
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Godfather had Model T,
ignition coils
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36
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Making things with
pocket knife
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37
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Godfather was coal miner,
handyman
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Learned he could build, make
things
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Ignition coils, radio:
experimenting
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38
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Math, science at
Edwardsville High School
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Avoided languages
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Science/engineering, math
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Writing early
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39
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Russian Orthodox family, but
anticlerical
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Religious rituals
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Cyrillic and Latin script
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40
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Slavic/English language
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Carpathians in NJ (Andy
Warhol, Sandra Dee, Robert Urich)
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41
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Father died at 85 of black
lung
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42
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Father worried about
starvation
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Must produce to eat
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43
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Father: must learn
Russian from Russian Orthodox priest
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Wrote father in dialect
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44
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Importance of learning; when
not working, school
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Worked at 15 on track-repair
gang to afford college
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Injured back
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45
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Graduate student assistant;
RR during school holidays
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EE; then electronics
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Working on microwave tubes
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Bardeen
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Advisser was Heinz Van
Voerster, cybernetics
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46
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Transferred to Bardeen;
later, Schrzeffer came into group
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Bachelor's degree in 1950;
TA, U of IL in 1950-51
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Bardeen came to U of IL in
1951
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Classroom lab experience,
work experience
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Microwave tube project
experience
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47
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Bob Hall visited U of IL,
gave info on alloy junctions
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Holonyak was first person at
U of IL to make p-n junctions
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Tube work--electronics, had
to make things
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Bardeen's first demo of
transistor box
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ILLIAC (digital computer
being built)
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Before Bardeen, had
thought of going to IBM and working with
computers
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48
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ILLIAC and Army Ordinance
project
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Or stick with microwave
tubes
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Atomic physics course with
Bardeen late in 1961
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1952 Bardeen teaches course
from Shockley's book
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Learning more from Bardeen
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Theoretical engineering
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49
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Bardeen needed people with
lab ability, background
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Started in bare room, had to
build everything
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Other grad student:
Richard Sirrine, had radio background
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Postdocs: Harry Letaw,
physical chemist; Roy Morrison, solid
state physics
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50
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Holonyak at Bell Labs
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Works with John Moll,
silicon and switching devices
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51
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First diffused silicon
transistors, switches
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Basis set for controlled
rectifier, thyristor, etc.
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First to metaleize silicon
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Set up technology that was
invariant technology leading to Silicon
Valley, chips
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Underestimated their own
achievements
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Bell management should have
taken better care of technology
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Andy Anderson was John
Moll's supervisor
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52
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Jack Morton; Joe Kleimack
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John Moll behind silicon
technology
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Silicon to make switching
devices
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53
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Army told Holonyak not to
talk about oxide masking
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GE: didn't understand
what was happening
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IBM: mistake,
automated production processes to make
everything, not silicon
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Would use TI for silicon
products
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Lloyd Hunter, Gunther-Mohr
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54
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IBM big enough to recover
from that mistake--business and
laboratory strength, Bell made more
correct decisions
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Monopoly made it hard to get
from Bell into Western Electric into
high volume production
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West Coast could take Bell
technology and run with it
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Arrogance of big companies
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Packard
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55
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Work at GE: controlled
rectifier, shorted emitter, triac and
symmetrical switch
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Red LED--government project
with Bob Hall, lasers
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56
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Happy with career
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Likes electronics
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Four students members in
Academy of Engineering, two more bound
to get in
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57
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George Craford and yellow
LED
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Plenty to do in electronics
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Semiconductors; lasers
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Educate kids, help them to
push along technology
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