The History of the Transistor by Mark P. D. Burgess

[  Editor's Note:  From 2008 to 2011 Mark began to study and document the history of early semiconductors, not only the technical developments, but also the commercialization of the technology by the many companies involved.  This became invaluable to both researchers and collectors.  His papers are reproduced here, with permission, with just minimal format changes.  All of this information is copyrighted Mark P. D. Burgess, New Zealand, and this site only hopes to mirror and preserve this important technical information.  If there are any concerns regarding copyright or ownership of any images or materials, please email us at info@techarc.com  ]

Preface from Author:

I have been interested in collecting artefacts of early technology for many years and post the 50th anniversary of the invention of the transistor and the explosion of published material celebrating the early years of the transistor have become interested in collecting early transistor memorabilia. Unlike other early technologies I have collected I am part of the transistor generation having been born the year the point contact transistor was announced by Bell Laboratories and having purchased as a teenager some real examples of early transistor technology and used them to build radios and other electronics.

Professionally I am interested in the commercialisation of research and the story of the development of semiconductor technology is a remarkable example of this.

You are welcome to be in touch. I am at markpdburgess@gmail.com 

Table of Contents:

• Faraday to Shockley: Semiconductors from 1833 to 1951:  This covers the experimentalists of the 19th and 20th centuries, who discovered the first properties of semiconductors, including photoconductivity, photovoltaics, rectification, and electroluminescence.  It then covers the pioneers who developed the theoretical basis to understand these unusual properties.

• Early Transistor Technologies: Developments in the 1950s:  This covers the different technologies, from the first metal-semiconductor transistors (like point-contact transistors), to the P-N junction transistors of 1950, and the many technologies of producing them.

• History of Bell and Western Electric Diffused Transistors:  covers diffusion technologies, which lead to power rectifies, the solar cell, the PNPN switch, metal alloy devices,  the development of oxide masking, and photo-resists, ushering in modern transistors and even integrated circuits.  

• U.S. Transistor Manufacturers:

  • • Early History of General Electric in the 1950s:  Already making diodes, GE quickly entered the transistor market with process improvements, and inventing the alloy junction transistor.

    • History of Raytheon's semiconductor business:  Raytheon was the first licensee of Bell labs to produce a commercial transistor, the CK-703, and produced many models including the ubiquitous CK-722 which became the first low-cost transistor available to hobbyists in the 1950's.

    • Early History of RCA in the 1950s:  Also a giant in industry before Bell announced the invention of the transistor, RCA quickly entered the field making many improvements, and making the first working MOS (metal oxide semiconductor) field effect transmitter, which had long been theorized by many, but eluded development.

    • Early Semiconductor History of Texas Instruments:  The unlikely story of how a seismic oil exploration company convinced Bell Labs into granting them a license to make transistors, and Texas Instruments was born.  They supplied transistors for early hearing aids, then developed the first transistor radio (the Regency TR-1) to help sell their transistors.

• European Transistor Manufacturers:

  • • Early history of Philips in the 1950s:  Philips was another early licensee of Bell Labs, who produced many transistors under it's subsidiaries of Valvo (West Germany), Mullard (Great Britain), Radiotechnique Compelec (France), and Amperex (USA).

    • History of Telefunken Semiconductors:  shows the developments and products by this established company in the 1950's. 

    • History of Transistors in France:  A French company F & S Westinghouse appears to have independently produced a transistor (which they called the transistron) in 1948, but it wasn't well publicized.  This documents that development, and the many other French. companies involved in transistor commercialization in the 1950's.  Contemporary published articles are included translated to English by Mark Burgess.

    • ***CFS Westinghouse Westectal Diodes and the Westcrel Transistron:  This is an English translation of the French independent discovery of the transistor.

• Australian Transistor Manufacturers:

  • • History of AWV's semiconductor business:  This Australian company was an early Bell labs licensee, and this not only outlines their production, but also contains a description of their manufacturing process.