Leopoldo Benjamin Valdes was a pioneer in semiconductors. He was one of the first four recruits by

William Shockley William Bradford Shockley Jr. (February 13, 1910 – August 12, 1989) was an American physicist and inventor. He was the manager of a research group at Bell Labs that included John Bardeen and Walter Brattain. The three scientists were jointly ...

to help develop technologies at

Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory was a pioneering semiconductor developer founded by William Shockley, and funded by Beckman Instruments, Inc., in 1955. It was the first high technology company in what came to be known as Silicon Valley to wo ...

Career

During the winter of 1954–1955, William Shockley decided to seek a sponsor to help him establish production of complex transistors and his own

Shockley diode The Shockley diode (named after physicist William Shockley) is a four-layer semiconductor diode, which were one of the first semiconductor devices invented. It is a PNPN diode, with alternating layers of P-type and N-type material. It is equ ...

s. He was initially supported by

Raytheon Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitaliza ...

, but the agreement was soon canceled by that company. After Shockley subsequently established

under the umbrella of

Beckman Instruments Beckman Coulter Inc. is a Danaher Corporation company that develops, manufactures, and markets products that simplify, automate and innovate complex biomedical testing. It operates in two industries: Diagnostics and Life Sciences. For more than ...

, he recruited

William W. Happ William Wolfgang Happ (1919 – 1998) was a physicist, electrical engineer, and pioneer in semiconductors. He was one of the first four recruits by William Shockley to help develop technologies at Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory. Early life Wi ...

who he knew from Raytheon. Shockley's other three initial recruits were

George Smoot Horsley George Smoot Horsley (1916 – 1992) was a physicist and pioneer in printed circuitry and semiconductors. He was one of the first four recruits by William Shockley to help develop technologies at Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory. Early life H ...

and Valdes both of whom he knew from

Bell Labs Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984), then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996) and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007), is an American industrial research and scientific development company owned by mult ...

, and

Richard Victor Jones Richard Victor Jones (1929 – November 11, 2019) was a Professor of Applied Physics at Harvard University and a pioneer in semiconductors. He was one of the first four recruits by William Shockley to help develop technologies at Shockley Semicon ...

, who was then a new

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

graduate. Valdes, as the most experienced of the group, was tasked with setting up crystal growing equipment. He also brought lists of equipment suppliers from his prior employer, Pacific Semiconductors. Valdes, however, clashed with Shockley early on because, according to Jones, he felt he knew more than Shockley about semiconductors; he ultimately left the company after about a year. Jones also recalled that Valdes was under a great deal of pressure because he had moved his family west to join Shockley and took issue with the way Shockley was running the company. Jones also believed Shockley, who would soon become notorious for his paranoia and secrecy at the company, viewed the experienced Valdes as a competitor and suspected he would take Shockley's technologies to another company. Valdes later worked for

Rheem Manufacturing Company Rheem Manufacturing Company is an American privately held manufacturer that produces residential and commercial water heaters and boilers, as well as heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment. The company also produces and sell ...

, and then

Watkins-Johnson Company Watkins-Johnson Company was a designer and manufacturer of electronic devices, systems, and equipment. The company, commonly referred to as "W-J", was formed in 1957 by Dean A. Watkins and H. Richard Johnson, and was headquartered in Palo Alto, Ca ...

. In 1961, Valdes published a 370-page book ''The Physical Theory of Transistors'' which is cited in university level textbooks.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valdes, Leopoldo 20th-century American physicists Silicon Valley people Scientists at Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory Scientists at Bell Labs