Semiconductor theory and device design · 1910–1989
William Bradford Shockley
Shockley helped direct Bell Labs’ semiconductor research. After Bardeen and Brattain’s point-contact transistor, he developed a different junction-based design in 1948. That architecture used carrier injection through adjoining semiconductor regions, requiring a theory of transport through the material’s interior. His 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics was shared with Bardeen and Brattain. Developing the concept and manufacturing reliable devices were separate stages involving additional researchers.
Contribution & context
His central contribution here is the junction transistor and its physical explanation. It should not be substituted for Bardeen and Brattain’s earlier working point-contact invention.
William B. Shockley: Facts1948: Conception of the Junction Transistor
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
- William B. Shockley: Facts ↗Nobel Prize OutreachHistorical account · Source checked
- 1948: Conception of the Junction Transistor ↗Computer History MuseumHistorical account · Source checked
Sources and further reading. What the review labels mean