Gordon Kidd Teal (January 10, 1907 – January 7, 2003) was an American engineer. He invented a method of applying the

Czochralski method The Czochralski method, also Czochralski technique or Czochralski process, is a method of crystal growth used to obtain single crystals of semiconductors (e.g. silicon, germanium and gallium arsenide), metals (e.g. palladium, platinum, silver, ...

to produce extremely pure germanium single crystals used in making greatly improved

transistors upright=1.4, gate (G), body (B), source (S) and drain (D) terminals. The gate is separated from the body by an insulating layer (pink). A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch ...

.Gordon Kidd Teal Papers
#3820, The Texas Collection. He, together with

Morgan Sparks Morgan Sparks (July 6, 1916 – May 3, 2008) was an American scientist and engineer who helped develop the microwatt bipolar junction transistor in 1951, which was a critical step in making transistors usable for every-day electronics. Sparks direc ...

, invented a modification of the process that produced the configuration necessary for the fabrication of

bipolar junction transistors A bipolar junction transistor (BJT) is a type of transistor that uses both electrons and electron holes as charge carriers. In contrast, a unipolar transistor, such as a field-effect transistor, uses only one kind of charge carrier. A bipolar ...

. He is most remembered for developing the first silicon transistor while at

Texas Instruments Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that designs and manufactures semiconductors and various integrated circuits, which it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers globa ...

Early life and education

Teal was born in South Dallas, Texas to Olin Allison Teal and Azelia Kidd. His father had come to Texas in 1897 from Georgia. Gordon was valedictorian at the Bryan Street High School in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, and graduated in 1924. Gordon earned his

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in Mathematics and Chemistry from

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the ...

in 1927 and his

master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

and

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in Physical Chemistry from Brown University in 1928 and 1931, respectively. While at Brown, he began work in the laboratory of Professor Charles Kraus on the germanium, which was then believed to be useless.

Bell Labs

Teal joined

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 development, research and scientific developm ...

in 1930 and would remain employed there for 22 years. During his time there, he continued to work with germanium and silicon. When

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 jointl ...

's group at Bell Labs invented the transistor in 1947, Teal realized that substantial improvements in the device would result if it was fabricated using a single crystal, rather than the polycrystalline material then being used, and created the grown-junction single-crystal technique.

Texas Instruments

In 1952 Dallas-based Texas Instruments had purchased a license to produce germanium transistors from Western Electric, the manufacturing arm of AT&T and placed an advertisement in the New York Times for a director of research. Teal, becoming homesick for his native Dallas, responded and was hired by Patrick E. Haggerty. Teal started at TI as an Assistant Vice President on 1 January 1953, bringing with him all his expertise in growing semiconductor crystals. Haggerty had hired him to establish a team of scientists and engineers to keep TI at the leading edge of the new and rapidly expanding semiconductor industry. Teal's first assignment was to organize what became TI's Central Research Laboratories (CRL). Because of Teal's background, this new department was modeled after Bell Labs.

Silicon transistor

In April 1954 Teal's TI CRL team created the first commercial

silicon transistor upright=1.4, gate (G), body (B), source (S) and drain (D) terminals. The gate is separated from the body by an insulating layer (pink). A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch e ...

and tested it on 14 April 1954. On 10 May 1954 at the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) National Conference on Airborne Electronics, in Dayton, Ohio, Teal revealed this achievement to the world, when he announced: "Contrary to what my colleagues have told you about the bleak prospects for silicon transistors, I happen to have a few of them here in my pocket." Teal also presented a paper "Some Recent Developments in Silicon and Germanium Materials and Devices" at this conference.

Other achievements

In 1957 Teal and the CRL developed a chemical reduction process for ultra-pure silicon. In 1958 a CRL employee

Jack Kilby Jack St. Clair Kilby (November 8, 1923 – June 20, 2005) was an American electrical engineer who took part (along with Robert Noyce of Fairchild) in the realization of the first integrated circuit while working at Texas Instruments (TI) in 1 ...

created the first integrated circuit. Other breakthrough developments include many advancements in

infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...

technology and digital signal processing, initially developed for the oil exploration industry, then for space and defense applications. During 1963 and 1964 Teal became the International Technical Director for TI, promoting TI's growth as an international company. He resided in England, France, and Italy and was most active in their scientific and industrial aspects.

First Director of the Institute for Materials Research

In 1965, Teal, taking a leave of absence from Texas Instruments, became the first Director of the National Bureau of Standards' Institute for Materials Research in Washington, D.C. After his two-year term, he returned to Texas Instruments and remained there until he retired in 1972.

Retirement

After retiring from Texas Instruments Teal continued to work as a consultant for Texas Instruments and the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

and participate in many scientific organizations.

Personal life

Teal was married to Lyda Louise Smith on March 7, 1931. The couple had three sons: Robert Carroll, Donald Fraser, and Stephen O’Banion Teal.

Awards and honors

IEEE Medal of Honor The IEEE Medal of Honor is the highest recognition of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). It has been awarded since 1917, when its first recipient was Major Edwin H. Armstrong. It is given for an exceptional contributio ...

(1968) *Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet ...

(1967)

Death and legacy

Teal died on January 7, 2003. In May 2013, the Board of Regents of Baylor University honored Teal by naming a new residence hall the Gordon Teal Residential College.

References

External links

Biography at IEEE Global History Network

Gordon K. Teal - An Interview Conducted By Andrew Goldstein. IEEE History Center 17-20 December 1991
{{DEFAULTSORT:Teal, Gordon Kidd 1907 births 2003 deaths Baylor University alumni Brown University alumni Texas Instruments people IEEE Medal of Honor recipients People from Dallas Engineers from Texas