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