- Robert N. Hall
Robert N. Hall (b.
December 25 ,1919 ) is an American engineer. He demonstrated the first semiconductor laser, and invented a type ofmagnetron commonly used inmicrowave ovens . He also contributed to the development ofrectifiers for power transmission.Hall was born in
New Haven, Connecticut . He studied atCalifornia Institute of Technology , receiving the B.S. in 1942 and the Ph.D. in 1948.Studying the characteristics of
p-i-n diode s used as power rectifiers, he had a key insight which resulted in his being co-credited withWilliam Shockley and W. T. Read, Jr., for the analysis of nonradiativecarrier recombination insemiconductors .Hall developed the semiconductor laser in 1962, while working at
General Electric inSchenectady, New York . [cite journal |last=Hall |first=Robert N. |coauthors=G. E. Fenner, J. D. Kingsley, T. J. Soltys, and R. O. Carlson |year=1962 |month=Nov. |title=Coherent Light Emission From GaAs Junctions |journal=Physical Review Letters |volume=9 |issue=9 |pages=366–369 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.9.366] In the 1970's, Hall's work focussed onphotovoltaics andsolar cell s. He retired in 1987 having been granted 43 U.S.patent s during his career.Hall was elected to the
National Academy of Engineering in 1977, and to the National Academy of Sciences in 1978. He was inducted into theNational Inventors Hall of Fame in 1994.References
Further reading
* Hall, Robert N., "Early transistor history at GE", 2000, http://www.semiconductormuseum.com/Transistors/GE/OralHistories/Hall/Hall_Index.htm, accessed
March 6 ,2006 .
* Invent Now Hall of Fame, "Robert N. Hall", http://www.invent.org/hall_of_fame/73.html, accessedMarch 6 ,2006 .
* Lemelson-MIT Program, "R. N. Hall", http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/hall3.html, accessedMarch 6 ,2006 .
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