Traitorous Eight - Research Strategy

Research Strategy

Throughout the 1956 most members of the lab were assembling and tuning the equipment, and "pure scientists" Hoernie and Noyce carried out individual applied research. Shockley refused to hire technical staff, believing that his scientists should be able to handle all technological processes. After resettlement, he focused on fine-tuning Shockley diodes for mass production, and five employees led by Noyce continued the work on a field effect transistor for Beckman Instruments. Shockley refused to work on bipolar transistors, which later appeared as a strategic mistake. Meanwhile, the work on Shockley diodes took too much effort and the produced devices were a commercial failure.

According to Noyce and Moore, as well as David Brock and Joel Shurkin, the shift from bipolar transistors to Shockley diodes was unexpected. Shockley initially planned to work on the mass production of diffusion bipolar transistors, but then set up a "secret project" on Shockley diodes, and in 1957 stopped all works on bipolar transistors. The reasons for this turn are unknown. According to a Beckman's biographer, Shockley regarded his diode as an interesting scientific problem, and chose it neglecting the commercial interests of Beckman.

Bo Lojek, based on the archives of Shockley, believes that Shockley Labs never worked on bipolar transistors; that Shockley diodes were the original target of Shockley and Beckman, for which Beckman Instruments received military R&D contracts; and that Shockley diodes could find widespread use in telephony if Shockley improved their reliability.