Theoretical solid-state physics · 1908–1991
John Bardeen
Bardeen joined Bell Labs after wartime research and investigated electrical conduction and semiconductor surfaces. He worked closely with Brattain to connect theoretical problems with laboratory observations, contributing to the 1947 point-contact transistor. In 1951 he moved to the University of Illinois. With Leon Cooper and Robert Schrieffer he later developed the BCS theory of superconductivity, earning a second Nobel Prize in Physics in 1972.
Contribution & context
His transistor contribution centered on explaining surface behavior and guiding experiments with Brattain. He also stressed the earlier university and industrial materials research that made their work possible.
John Bardeen: BiographicalJohn Bardeen: Semiconductor Research Leading to the Point Contact Transistor (1956)
Discoveries in context
Before Silicon Valley, a germanium amplifier ↗
The first working transistor joined quantum ideas, surface experiments, purified germanium, and a team trying to improve telecommunications.
Sources & further reading
- John Bardeen: Biographical ↗Nobel Prize OutreachHistorical account · Source checked
- John Bardeen: Semiconductor Research Leading to the Point Contact Transistor (1956) ↗Nobel Prize OutreachOriginal research · Source checked Where to look: Opening historical discussion: purification, wartime germanium research at Purdue, and silicon research at Bell Labs.Opening paragraphs checked in indexed NobelPrize.org text; PDF pagination is unverified.
Sources and further reading. What the review labels mean