Donald R. Herriott (February 4, 1928 – November 8, 2007) was an American physicist who is known for his contributions to

interferometry Interferometry is a technique which uses the ''interference'' of superimposed waves to extract information. Interferometry typically uses electromagnetic waves and is an important investigative technique in the fields of astronomy, fiber opt ...

, and for his efforts towards perfecting the techniques of high-resolution lithography. Herriott also helped bring the first helium-neon laser into operation. He was the president of the Optical Society of America in 1984.

Life and career

Herriott was born in Rochester,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

to William and Lois (née Denton) Herriott. During 1945–49, Herriott completed his undergraduate studies in physics at

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

, and later studied optics at the University of Rochester, followed by electrical engineering at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (now part of New York University). From 1949 to 1956 he worked at the Bausch & Lomb Optical Company, while still attending the University of Rochester. His research involved thin films,

, and measurement of the modulation transfer function of lenses.Optical Society elects Herriott vice-president. (Donald R. Herriott). Physics Today, Feb, 1982, Vol.35, p.57(1) In 1956, Herriott joined Bell Telephone Laboratories as an optical consultant in the research department. Here, he was involved in development of the

flying-spot store The flying-spot store was an optical digital memory used in early stored program control components of electronic switching systems. The flying-spot store used a photographic plate as the store of binary data. Each ''spot'' on the plate was an ...

, used in the first electronic switching system. He later collaborated with Ali Javan and his colleagues in the development of the first gas laser. Javan had enlisted Herriott specifically to design a resonator for his helium-neon laser. On 12 December 1960, Herriott was adjusting the mirrors of the Fabry-Perot structure he had designed, when the group obtained the first spike indicating lasing on the oscilloscope. In 1965 he proposed the concept of the Herriott cell. In 1968, while at Bell Labs, he became head of the lithographic systems development department. In this post, he worked on electron beam, optical and X-ray lithography systems for integrated circuit fabrication. Herriott retired from Bell Labs in 1981, and began to consult as the senior scientific adviser at the

Perkin Elmer Corporation PerkinElmer, Inc., previously styled Perkin-Elmer, is an American global corporation focused in the business areas of diagnostics, life science research, food, environmental and industrial testing. Its capabilities include detection, imaging, inf ...

. He served on the Board of Directors of The Optical Society of America from 1968-1970, and was subsequently elected as its 1982 vice-president and 1984 president. Herriott died on 8 November 2007 following a long illness. He had three daughters and a son with his wife Karis Smith Herriott.

References

External links

Articles Published by early OSA Presidents
Journal of the Optical Society of America {{DEFAULTSORT:Herriott, Donald R. Presidents of Optica (society) American physicists 2007 deaths 1928 births Duke University alumni University of Rochester alumni New York University alumni

Life and career

See also

References

External links