Calvin Souther Fuller
Calvin Souther Fuller | |
---|---|
Born | May 25, 1902 |
Died | October 28, 1994 | (aged 92)
Nationality | American |
Citizenship | United States |
Alma mater | University of Chicago, PhD |
Known for | Invention of the Solar cell |
Awards | Elected to US National Inventors Hall of Fame, May 2, 2008, for invention of the "Silicon Solar Cell" along with Daryl Chapin and Gerald Pearson.
Elected to New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame, June 22, 2006, for Development of the Semiconductor Photovoltaic Solar Cell. Winner of Alfred Krupp Award, Heidelberg University, Germany. Received theAT&T Bell Laboratories |
Calvin Souther Fuller (May 25, 1902 – October 28, 1994) was an American
Early life
Calvin Fuller was born in Chicago 25 May 1902 to Julius Quincy and Bessie Souther Fuller. Studying chemistry at the University of Chicago, he received his B.S. in 1926, and working with William Draper Harkins, earned a Ph.D. degree in 1929.
From 1920 to 1922 he worked for the General Chemical Company, and from 1924 to 1930 for the
In August 1942 Fuller became part of the effort to develop
Solar battery
Working with Bell Telephone scientists Daryl Chapin and Gerald Pearson, Fuller diffused boron into silicon to capture the Sun's power. In doing so, they created the first practical means of collecting energy from the Sun and turning it into a current of electricity. The invention of the solar battery resulted in a 600% improvement in the ability to harness the Sun's power into electricity. First, Fuller ensured that silicon was uncorrupted and pure. Then Fuller accomplished the diffusion of boron into silicon. The inventors used several small strips of silicon to capture sunlight and render it into free electrons. Bell Laboratories, who had funded the research, announced the prototype manufacture of a new solar battery.[4]
Robert W. Fuller, Calvin S. Fuller's oldest son, tells the following story: "In 1954 I was home from vacation from college to visit my parents. That night my father, Calvin Souther Fuller, came home with something that looked like a quarter with wires sticking out of it. This was a device that connected to a small electric windmill that stood on the table. He shined a bright flashlight on the quarter-like object, which was actually silicon solar cell, and the blades of the windmill started turning. It was so exciting to see the flashlight power the tiny windmill. While this device looked like a quarter to anyone else, it was actually the world's first silicon solar battery - a device that later become known as the silicon solar cell."
The first public service trial of the Bell Solar Battery began with a telephone carrier system in 1955 in Americus, Georgia.[5][6] By 1958, the US Department of Defense realized an extremely valuable application of this device as it deployed self-sufficient, power to vehicles and satellites in space.
Polymers
Fuller did basic research on
Bell was seeking an ideal insulator to use in coaxial cables which would be effective for high frequency operation. Realizing that polyethylene was free of polar groups, Fuller produced some of the first cable with this now common insulator.[8]
Personal life
Fuller was married to Willmine Fuller. They had three children,
References
- ^ Allen G. Debus (1968) World Who's Who in Science, Marquis-Who's Who
- ^ Millman(1983) p 519
- ISBN 0-932764-00-2
- ^ Millman (1983) p 432
- ISBN 978-81-203-1902-8.
- ^ Bellis, Mary. "History of Solar Cells". about.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
- ^ Millman(1983) p 482
- ^ Millman (1983) p 484
- Palm Beach Post. 2 November 1994.
- S. Millman editor (1983) A History of Engineering and Science in the Bell System, volume 4: Physical Sciences, ISBN 0-932764-03-7.
External links
- Eric Pace (2 November 1994) Calvin Fuller obituary The New York Times.
- James J. Bohning (1986) Interview with Calvin S. Fuller at Chemical Heritage Foundation, interview #20.
- Ann L. Fuller, Editor (2014) The Making of a Scientist: A Memoir by Calvin S. Fuller
- Capitol Hill Quarterly (April 2009) Fuller diffusing boron into silicon from the American Physical Society.
- Howard Reiss (1979) Citation Classic recalling Reiss, Fuller, Morin (1956) "Chemical interactions among defects in germanium and silicon", Bell System Technical Journal 35:535–636.