Boyle & Smith (1969)

The 2009 Physics Nobel is shared (along with Charles Kao, who is cited for suggesting optic fibers) by Willard Boyle and George Smith, inventors of the Charge-coupled Device.

The CCD, of course, is the workhorse of modern Astronomy. I cannot even imagine how things would be without it.

Actually, Boyle & Smith (1970, Bell Systems Technical Journal, 49, 587) and Amelio, Tompsett & Smith (1970, Bell Systems Tech. J., 49, 593), according to the detailed cite by the Nobel committee.

2 Comments
  1. hlee:

    [Nobel Controversy: Former Bell Labs Employee Says He Invented the CCD Imager] from IEEE Spectrum

    10-26-2009, 8:17 pm
  2. hlee:

    [Nobel Goes to Boyle and Smith for CCD Camera Chip] from IEEE Spectrum. Astronomers would enjoy this article more than any one. See the bottom two paragraphs of the first page.

    10-29-2009, 1:12 pm
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