mesbooks Chapter 561: Desperate Bell Labs, Desperate William Shockley (Updated)
Chapter 561: Desperate Bell Labs, Desperate William Shockley (Updated)
January 10, 1945, White Eagle, New Jersey.
Inside Bell Labs, the air was filled with the unique burning smell of a semiconductor being broken down.
"Failed again?" A cold voice came from the laboratory door.
William Shockley, the head of the solid-state physics research group at Bell Labs, was now wearily taking off his goggles, revealing his bloodshot eyes.
On the operating table in front of him were scattered all kinds of strange-shaped metal clamps and several polysilicon slices that looked like a disaster scene under a microscope.
The vacuum pump next to them was still making a monotonous and annoying hum, as if mocking their futility.
The investor representative, John Calvert from AT&T (Bell Labs' parent company) headquarters, walked into the laboratory in a suit and tie with a gloomy expression.
He was followed by several executives who also looked worried.
Shockley wiped the sweat from his forehead, his voice filled with undisguised frustration:
"Yes, Mr. Calvert. We've tried new doping and etching methods, but... the stability still doesn't meet the standards. The amplification effect is weak, and the lifespan is extremely short, completely unsuitable for practical use."
"Practical requirements?" Calvert's voice suddenly rose, practically a roar. "Dr. Shockley, we don't ask for 'practicality'; we ask for 'existence', for 'usability'. We ask for a way to circumvent that damned Pentium patent barrier, or at least produce it, before it's completely shut down."
He strode over to the operating table and fiddled with the failed silicon chip with his fingertips in disgust.
"Look at this garbage. $30, a full $30, and all they got is something that even a scrap yard wouldn't want. And that damn Texas Microcomputer Laboratory, that damn Pentium, they're probably sleeping soundly on a pile of patent royalties right now, waiting to win the Nobel Prize, right?"
Shockley's cheek muscles twitched.
Calvert's words cut like a knife into his heart.
Historically, it was not until 47 that Shockley led his team to make a small semiconductor triode, and later he had a long lawsuit with Bell over the patent signature of the transistor.
In this timeline, William Shockley no longer had to worry about patent signatures because of the existence of the Texas Microcomputer Laboratory under the New Century Consortium controlled by Zhang Chi's white glove Yegorov.
"Root Pentium", this sudden name now hangs over the entire White Eagle semiconductor research field like a nightmare.
This mysterious person, or team, has registered a series of core patents on the basic structure, working principles and applications of "small semiconductors" - which they call "transistors" - at an astonishing speed over the past few years through the equally mysterious Texas Microcomputer Laboratory.
The signatories are all the same "Gen Pentium".
These patents are like a carefully woven net, firmly blocking almost all key paths for latecomers to enter this field.
What’s even more hateful is that Texas Microcomputer only released the patent specification, which shows “what a transistor is” and “what it can do”.
However, how to manufacture it stably, efficiently and on a large scale, especially the core material, the preparation process of the incredibly pure silicon crystals, is a secret.
They did not apply for a patent for the preparation process and would never disclose it to the outside world.
The efforts of corporate espionage are even more of a joke. Texas Microcomputer is closely protected by Texas Security Company, which is also under the Texas New Century Consortium.
The Texas New Century Foundation and the Texas judiciary, state legislature, and executive branch are in cahoots with each other.
This means that Shockley and his team are like a group of ants trapped in a glass maze.
They knew that the exit of the maze (transistor) was there, and they could even see the tempting light outside (huge market prospects), but the road under their feet (manufacturing process) was completely obscured.
They can only rely on costly and time-consuming trial and error to explore the "unconventional methods" that may not even exist.
Every experiment is like putting a green knife into a high-temperature furnace and burning it to ashes.
"Mr. Calvert," Shockley tried to explain, "what we're facing isn't a technical problem, but a 'black box.' The Texas Microcomputer has locked down the source. Without high-purity, perfectly structured single-crystal silicon as a substrate, any doping and structural design is just castles in the air. The silicon or germanium wafers we use now have too many impurities and defects..."
"Excuses, all excuses," Calvert interrupted rudely. "Bell Labs has the best scientists in White Eagle and the most abundant funding. Can't you even compete with a bunch of guys who appeared out of nowhere?"
"Is that 'Root Pentium' an angel sent by God? I don't care if it's witchcraft or magic, you have to find a way for me. AT&T's phone network needs it, the military needs it, and all future electronic devices will need it. It's a market worth billions, even tens of billions. Do you understand? Billions, not three hundred thousand!"
He took a step closer, his voice low and threatening:
"William, think about your future. If this project ultimately proves to be Bell Labs' Waterloo, and AT&T is forced to bow to the Texas Microcomputer and pay exorbitant patent fees... how do you think the board will view you as the person in charge of this project? That 'Root Pentium' will step on your failure to ascend to the altar, and you... you will be nailed to Bell Labs' pillar of shame."
Calvert left in anger and disappointment. His assistants dared not say a word and silently cleaned up the mess on the laboratory table.
Shockley slumped back in his chair, his hands buried deep in his hair.
He looked at the gray sky outside the window, and an unprecedented sense of powerlessness and self-doubt surged over him.
He exhausted all his efforts and led the team to overcome difficulties day and night. Is he really destined to become a stepping stone for the mysterious "Root Pentium"?
Is it that William Shockley is destined to be forever trampled under the feet of an opponent he has never met and whose name may even be just a pseudonym?
In the distant East, the ancient proverb seemed to have traveled through time and space, whispering in his ear: "If there is Yu, why is there Liang..."
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At the same time, White Eagle DC, Pentagon
On the huge oak conference table, a thick contract with the word "Top Secret" printed on the cover had just been signed.
The person who signed on behalf of the White Eagle Ministry of Defense was a lieutenant general, while the person who signed on behalf of the Texas Microcomputer Laboratory was a tall, middle-aged man with meticulously combed hair and a well-tailored dark blue suit.
It was Yegorov, the head of the Texas New Century Consortium.