CCD inventors receive Nobel Prize in Physics

[Doug Kerr]

Willard Boyle and George E. Smith have received the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics for the development, while with the former Bell Telephone Laboratories, of the charge-coupled device (CCD).

Charles Kao was also honored in that category for his work in fiber optic transmission.

While we think of a CCD as an imaging device (and the emphasis in reports of the award is on that), the original intent of the work was to provide a mass-producible shift register for use as an information storage device.

However, it was soon recognized that the initial content of each "cell" could be established, not by sequential electrical input of data to be stored, but directly from a photosensitive element at that cell. The basic CCD "shift register" principle then allowed sequential read out of these numerous photoelectric results (as analog charges, and thus as voltages) to be assembled into an image, giving the so-called CCD sensor array with which we are so familiar.

In effect, this unit is an array of photodetectors (whose operation is not really part of the CCD concept) closely integrated with a CCD device for readout. The fact that this kind of photodetector works on a "charge" premise of course facilitates this integration.

Kudos to all those awarded with Nobel prizes in this season, and to Bell Telephone Laboratories, at which I studied and then worked for a number of years (until just about the time of the development of the CCD, in fact).

 

[Cem_Usakligil]

Hi Doug,

Thanks so much for bringing this into our attention. This is one of the greatest achievements of modern times and I am excited to hear about the recognition by the Nobel Committee. Kudos indeed!

Cheers,

 

[Maris Rusis]

Pause, reflect, consider Gabriel Lippmann won the 1908 Nobel Prize in physics for the invention of true colour PHOTOGRAPHY! To date the Lippmann process remains the only way of exactly reproducing the actual colours of real things. Unfortunately his process is attended by so many practical difficulties that it remains a laboratory curiosity.

The Nobel Committee took its time in recognising the power of CCD technology. Perhaps they were wary of applauding another Lippmann style dead end.

 

[Asher Kelman]

Pause, reflect, consider Gabriel Lippmann won the 1908 Nobel Prize in physics for the invention of true colour PHOTOGRAPHY! To date the Lippmann process remains the only way of exactly reproducing the actual colours of real things. Unfortunately his process is attended by so many practical difficulties that it remains a laboratory curiosity.

The Nobel Committee took its time in recognising the power of CCD technology. Perhaps they were wary of applauding another Lippmann style dead end.

Maris,

This is what I found so far:

I'd like more references on the actual process!


Jonas Ferdinand Gabriel Lippmann (16 August 1845 – 13 July 1921) was a Franco-Luxembourgish physicist and inventor, and Nobel laureate in physics for his method of reproducing colours photographically based on the phenomenon of interference, later known as the Lippmann plate.

Biography

Lippmann was born to Franco-Jewish parents in Bonnevoie (former commune of Hollerich), Luxemburg. When Gabriel was three, his family moved back to France, to live in Paris, where he was homeschooled.

He is remembered for the innovations that resulted from his search for a direct color-sensitive medium in photography. He was one of the founders of the Institut d'optique théorique et appliquée in France. He also invented an electrometer that was used in the first ECG machine.

Lippmann was a member of the Academy of Sciences from 8 February 1886 until his death, including serving as its President in 1912. In addition, he was a Foreign Member of the Royal Society of London, a member of the Bureau des Longitudes, and a member of the Grand Ducal Institute.

Lippmann married the daughter of novelist Victor Cherbuliez in 1888. He died on 13 July 1921 aboard the steamer France while en route from Canada. Source.