City of Light: The Story of Fiber Optics

306 NOTES TO PAGES 155–159
1970); published in English in Soviet Physics—Semiconductors 4, p. 1573 (1971),
cited in Alferov, ‘‘The history and future.’’
38. Holonyak telephone interview.
39. Alferov letter.
40. Holonyak telephone interview.
41. Alferov letter.
42. Jane E. Brody, ‘‘Bell developing a pocket laser,’’ New York Times, Sept. 1,
1970, p. 18. The Times article stresses the importance of the new laser for laser
technology in general, as well as for communications. It does not mention how
laser beams would be transmitted for communications; at that time Bell Labs was
still heavily involved with hollow light pipes, and legitimate doubts remained
about the feasibility of fiber-optic communications. The contrast between the Bell
Labs press conference and Corning’s press silence reflects the striking contrast in
the two corporate cultures in 1970.
43. A major concern was manufacturing lasers that would meet industrial
reliability requirements. ‘‘Second thoughts on applications for Bell’s c-w roomtemperature
diode,’’ Laser Focus Oct. 1970, pp. 24–26; Panish, interview, July 19,
1995.
44. Selway telephone interview.
45. Isamu Sakuma et al., ‘‘Continuous operation of junction lasers at room
temperature,’’ Japan Journal of Applied Physics 10, pp. 282–283 (1971).
46. Panish telephone interview, June 30, 1995.
47. Panish interview, July 19, 1995.
48. Robert L. Hartman, telephone interview, Dec. 19, 1996.
49. Henry Kressel, ‘‘The small, economy-size laser,’’ Laser Focus 6, pp. 45–49
(Nov. 1970).
50. Bernard C. DeLoach, Jr., telephone interview, Dec. 18, 1996. Another Bell
Labs scientist spotted dark lines in a dead laser at about the same time. B. C.
DeLoach, Jr., B. W. Hakki, R. L. Hartman, and L. A. D’Asaro, ‘‘Degradation of CW
GaAs double-heterojunction lasers at 300 K,’’ Proceedings of the IEEE 61, No. 7,
pp. 1042–1044 (July 1973).
51. David Newman and Simon Ritchie, ‘‘Sources and detectors for optical fibre
communications applications: the first 20 years,’’ IEE Proceedings 133 J, pp. 213–
229 (June 1986).
52. DeLoach telephone interview; follow-up call, Dec. 23, 1996.
53. DeLoach telephone interview and follow-up call.
54. Number from Hartman telephone interview.
55. Henry Kressel and J. K. Butler, Semiconductor Lasers and Heterojunction
LEDs (Academic Press, New York, 1977; see p. 3).
56. R. L. Hartman, J. C. Dyment, C. J. Hwang, and M. Kuhn, ‘‘Continuous
operation of GaAs-GaAlAs double-heterostructure lasers with 30�C half-lives exceeding
1000 h,’’ Applied Physics Letters 23, No. 4, pp. 181–183 (Aug. 15,
1973).
57. Alan Steventon, interview, Dec. 1, 1994, p. 4.
58. Many historic moments have zipped by me, but this is one that I recall; it
became the lead item in the Laser Focus product section. ‘‘Commercial diodes emit
cw at room temperature,’’ Laser Focus 11, No. 8, p. 44 (Aug. 1975).
59. W. B. Joyce, R. W. Dixon, and R. L. Hartman, ‘‘Statistical characterization
of the lifetimes of continuously operate (Al,Ga)As double-heterostructure lasers,’’
Applied Physics Letters 28, No. 11, pp. 684–686 (June 1, 1976).