2009 NOBEL PRIZE MEDAL IN PHYSICS

 

Nobel Prize medal, struck in 18 karat gold plated in 24 karat gold, designed by Erik Lindberg and manufactured by the Swedish Royal Mint. Obverse with bust of Alfred Nobel left, in field left, ALFR·/ NOBEL; behind head to right, NAT·/MDCCC/ XXXIII/ OB·/ MDCCC/ XCVI; at left edge, before bust, E· LINDBERG 1902. Reverse with, INVENTAS · VITAM · IUVAT · EXCOLUISSE · PER · ARTES (Life is enhanced through the arts of discovery) — REG · ACAD · — SCIENT · SUEC · (The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences); below, incuse, on tablet in exergue, W · S· BOYLE / MMIX, Nature, in the form of a goddess, standing left, her right arm holding a cornucopia, a figure representing the Genius of Science, standing right, holding up the veil of Science; in field, left, NATURA, in field, right SCIENTIA / ERIK / LINDBERG; the edge marked MV / G (Myntverket and Assay); weight: 178 g.; diameter: 65 mm (2 9/16 in.). Housed in the original red morocco case, top of case with border of a double-gilt dotted rule, "N" tool in corners, and centered with recipient's name (W.S. BOYLE); the fitted interior lined with suede and yellow satin; interior case edges with gilt dentelles.

Bell Lab scientists Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith developed the charge-coupled device during a brief meeting while they were working on whether it was possible to make a new form of bubble memory using semiconductors. Bubble memory was receiving a lot of attention – and funding - at Bell Labs at the time and Boyle and Smith thought that if they could develop a competing concept their semiconductor division would be ensured continued funding. Boyle, in a 2009 article in IEEE Spectrum recalled that when he returned home that night, he mentioned to his wife: "George and I did something special today."

They first described their invention in the Bell Systems Telephone Journal: "Basically it consists of storage charge in potential wells created at the surface of a semiconductor and moving the charge (representing information) over the surface by moving the potential minima … In particular, we consider minority carrier charge storage at the Si-SiO2 interface of a MOS capacitor. This charge may be transferred to a closely adjacent capacitor on the same substrate by appropriate manipulation of electrode potentials. Examples of possible applications are a shift register, as an imaging device, as a display device, and in performing logic" (p.587). Boyle, in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, recalled how Jim Early of Fairchild Semiconductor summarized the CCD: "The transistor worked with the sense of sound while the CCD worked with the sense of sight."

The other applications were largely put aside once its potential as an imaging device was further explored. Boyle and Smith saw how effective the CCDs were in converting light into digital data and they knew that the era of chemical-based photography was coming to a close. CCDs, 10 times more sensitive than film, would become the dominant technology in digital photography through the early 2000s when cheaper CMOS technology took over the consumer market. But it was the CCD that forged the path that led to DLSRs, smartphone photography and instant sharing of images. CCD technology remains dominant where the highest quality images are essential: in medicine and in science, especially in astronomy where the world's most powerful telescopes rely on CCD technology. NASA's space probes and space telescopes also use CCD technology. The Hubble, for instance, widened our perception of deep space through numerous discoveries and observations and expanded our imagination with images like the Pillars of Creation.

Boyle and Smith were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their invention 40 years after its inception. It was just two years after the iPhone was introduced and it was clear that digital imaging was having a profound impact not just in scientific fields, but also on society. Boyle, in his acceptance speech, attributed much of his success to the Bell Labs environment with its fellowship between scientists and engineers of varied fields, the mixture of theory with the practical and access to sophisticated equipment.

To read the complete article, see:
2009 Nobel Prize Medal in Physics Awarded to Willard Boyle, for His Work on Digital Photography Technology (https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2026/history-of-science-technology-2/2009-nobel-prize-medal-in-physics-awarded-to)

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web