Download - Walter Houser Brattain
Walter Houser Brattain
By: Alex Davis
Information
• Born in Amoy, China• Born on: February 10, 1902 • He died on October 13, 1987.
– Died of Alzheimer’s at age 85.
Degrees
• M.S from Whitman College in 1924• M.A from Univ. of Oregon in 1926• Ph.D from Univ. of Minnesota in 1929
Employment
• First job was as a radio engineer • 1929 - Brattain began working for
Bell Laboratories
Bell Labs
• Walter Brattain and John Bardeen worked closely together
• Concentrated research on the surface properties of solids
His research included:– the thermionic emission and absorbed
layers on tungsten – &– rectification and photo-effects on the
semiconductor surfaces • of cuprous oxide, silicon, and germanium
The Transistor
• Much discussion on how much credit Shockley deserved
• Was invented on December 23, 1947 by Brattain, Bardeen, and Shockley
Origin of of the word transistor
• The name transistor comes from the words:– 'trans' of transmitter – &– 'sistor' of resistor.
Definition of transistor• A device composed of semiconductor
material that amplifies • a signal or opens or closes a circuit • transistors have become the major
component in all • digital circuits, including computer
microprocessors which now contain • millions of microscopic size
transistors.
• "The only regret I have about the transistor is its use for rock and roll"
» Walter Brattain in reference to the transistor radio
Main Awards
• 1952 Stuart Ballantine Medal of the Franklin Institute
• 1955 Scott Medal• 1956 Nobel Prize Physics
– Co-winners William Shockley, John Bardeen -invention - transistor
Bibliography • "Walter H. Brattain." The Official Web Site
of the Nobel Foundation. Web. 22 Feb 2010. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1956/brattain-bio.html
• Bellis, Mary. "Walter Brattain." About. The New York Times Company, Web. 24 Feb 2010. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1956/brattain-bio.html