Warren Palmer Waters (8 September 1922 – 17 July 2000) was an American physicist, electrical engineer, and semiconductor pioneer. He filed several device and process patents in the field of solid state engineering and was the manager of the solid state research center for the Hughes Aircraft Company. Walter's innovative circuit designs led to the success of NASA's Surveyor program.
Education and military service
Waters was born in Sanger, California on 8 September 1922.[1] He graduated with honors from Sanger High School, winning the Bausch+Lomb Honorary Science Award for chemistry.[2]
Waters joined the U.S. Army in 1942 and trained to be a pilot during World War II. He was later deployed to the 386th Infantry division in northern France.[1] He lost a leg in combat on 12 April 1945, and received a Purple Heart[3][4] and a Bronze Star for his service.[1]
In his obituary, the Los Angeles Times reported that Waters' integrated circuit designs were used in NASA's Surveyor program, which landed some of the first unmanned spacecraft on the Moon.[19] The Atomic Heritage Foundation credits him with developing the components used in the landing mechanisms; later Waters helped invent the silicon wafer used in the electronics for telecommunication satellites.[1][20]
Waters married Lois Lockwood in 1951[21] in what the Covina Argus-Citizen called "an impressive ceremony";[2] the wedding was reported in several local newspapers.[22] He was the father of three children: Andrea Rosney, conductor Carolyn Waters Broe, and Lisa Waters.[19]
U.S. patent 2,817,609Alkali Metal Alloy Agents for Auto-Fluxing in Junction Forming, filed June 24, 1955, issued Dec. 24, 1957
U.S. patent 2,829,992Fused Junction Semiconductor Devices and Method of Making Same, filed Feb. 2, 1954, issued April 8, 1958
U.S. patent 2,829,993Process for Making Fused Junction Semiconductor Devices with Alkali Metal-Galium, filed June 24, 1955, issued April 8, 1958
U.S. patent 2,854,366Method of Making Fused Junction Semiconductor Devices, filed Nov. 25, 1957, issued Sept. 30, 1958
U.S. patent 2,854,610Semiconductor Transistor Device, filed Mar. 24, 1955, issued Sept. 30, 1958
U.S. patent 3,088,856Fused Junction Semiconductor Devices, filed Sept. 2, 1955, issued May 7, 1963
U.S. patent 3,388,000Method of Forming a Metal Contact on a Semi Conductor Device, filed Sept. 18, 1964, issued June 11, 1968
U.S. patent 3,518,751Electrical Connection and/or Mounting Arrays for Integrated Circuit Chips, filed May 25, 1967, issued July 7, 1970[18]
U.S. patent 3,615,929Method of Forming Epitaxial Region of Predetermined Thickness and Article of Manufacture, filed July 8, 1965, issued Oct. 26, 1971
U.S. patent 3,651,384Planar Schottky Barrier, filed March 8, 1971, issued Mar. 21, 1972
U.S. patent 3,836,991Semiconductor Device Having Epitaxial Region of Predetermined Thickness, filed Feb. 23, 1973, issued Sept. 17, 1974
^Waters, Warren P. (June 1954). "Some Experimental Studies with AC Operated Positive Ion Space Charge Detector". University of Southern California Library, M.S. Thesis.
^Sverre T. Eng; Warren P. Waters (14 October 1959). "A Gold-Bonded Germanium Diode for Parametric Amplification". Proceedings of the National Electronics Conference. XV: 15, 83–91.
^R. A. Gudmundsen; A. L. Wannlund; W. P. Waters; W. V. Wright (December 1945). "Recent Developments in Silicon Fusion Transistors". Tele-Tech & Electronic Industries: 76–78, 149–150.
^Arthur L. Wannlund; Warren P. Waters (1957). "A Silicon PNP Fused-Junction Transistor". IRE 1957 WESCON Convention Record Part 3 "Electron Devices". Hughes Semiconductors: 3–13.
^Warren P. Waters; H. G. Dill; C. H. Fa. "Molecular Bandpass Amplifiers". AF Report. ASD-TDR-62-21.