Robert N. Hall
Pioneer in semiconductors
The accomplishments and life of Bob Hall 1919-Today
Pioneered: the semiconductor laser (used in a myriad of modern devices), semiconductor power rectifier, a new magnetron (microwave), lithium drift detector (used in nuclear physics)
Biography
Robert Noel Hall was born in New Haven, Connecticut on December 25, 1919. Hall earned a B.S. in Physics at CalTech in 1942 and a Ph.D. in physics at CalTech in 1948. He then returned to the General Electric Research and Development Center in Schenectady, New York, where he had worked during WorldWar II on continuous wave magnetrons to jam enemy radar. These were later incorporated into microwave ovens. After the war Hall worked first on transistors, succeeding in making ingots of never-before-available intrinsic germanium from which devices could be fabricated. A "chance observation" while measuring the electrical properties of one of these ingots led him to his discovery of alloyed p-n junctions, the fundamental elements of power rectifiers and some transistors. During the 1970s energy crisis Hall worked on photovoltaics and solar cells.
Robert Hall invented the version of the magnetron that operates most microwave ovens, the semiconductor laser found in compact disk players, and power rectifiers that greatly improved power transmission efficiency. His basic rectifier structure, with silicon replacing the germanium, is used today for AC-to-DC power conversion in electric locomotives and high-voltage DC electrical transmission. In 1962 Hall invented the semiconductor injection laser, a device now used in all compact disk players and laser printers, and most optical fiber communications systems.
Dr. Hall retired from GE in 1989 but still lives in the town of Niskayuna, Schenectady County, NY, not far from what is now called GE Global Research.
Videos:
The Edison Tech Center interviewed Dr. Hall in 2008 about various subjects, here are some excerpts:The Semiconductor Laser, how it works:
Purifying Germanium for the Lithium Drift Detector:
The Diode Laser (interview by GE)
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