No optical transistors

06/01/1997

No optical transistors

The rate of change over my 40 years in the industry has been beyond imagination, but for one long disappointment: the insufficient duplication of the vacuum tube photomultiplier into a solid-state optical amplifier. We failed to invent the totally optical transistor. Soon, thermal density will limit our silicon compaction. We need a breakthrough in N-doping manmade CVD diamond so that diamond transistors may operate at those higher temperatures while retaining cheap air-cooling solutions.

John Posivak

Mercury Computer Systems Inc.,

Chelmsford, MA