MRL-PRL-History-Book.Pdf

84495 Philips History Book.qxp 8/12/05 11:59 am Page 3 THE MULLARD/PHILIPS RESEARCH LABORATORIES, REDHILL. A SHORT HISTORY 1946 - 2002 John Walling MBE FREng Design and layout Keith Smithers 84495 PHILIPS HISTORY BOOK PAGE 3 84495 Philips History Book.qxp 8/12/05 11:59 am Page 4 Copyright © 2005 Philips Electronics UK Ltd. First published in 2005 Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, with prior permission in writing to Philips Electronics UK Ltd. Paper used in this publication are from wood grown in sustainable forests, chorine free. Author: John Walling MBE FREng Editors: Terry Doyle PhD, Brian Manley CBE FREng, David Paxman MA Design and layout: Keith Smithers Printed in United Kingdom by: Ruscombe Litho and Digital Printing Ltd Philips Reserach Laboratories Cross Oak Lane, Redhill, Surrey. RH1 5HA 84495 PHILIPS HISTORY BOOK PAGE 4 84495 Philips History Book.qxp 8/12/05 11:59 am Page 5 THE MULLARD/PHILIPS RESEARCH LABORATORIES, REDHILL. A SHORT HISTORY 1946 - 2002 CONTENTS Page FOREWORD by Terry Doyle PhD Director of the Laboratory 9 PREFACE by John Walling MBE FREng 13 CHAPTER ONE EARLY DAYS. 1946 - 1952 17 CHAPTER TWO THE GREAT DAYS BEGIN. 1953 -1956 37 CHAPTER THREE THE GREAT DAYS CONTINUE. 1957 - 1964 55 CHAPTER FOUR A TIME OF CHANGE AND THE END OF AN ERA. 1965 -1969 93 CHAPTER FIVE THE HOSELITZ YEARS.1970 -1976 129 CHAPTER SIX PRL - THE GODDARD ERA. 1976- 1984 157 CHAPTER SEVEN TROUBLED TIMES. 1985-1991 191 CHAPTER EIGHT A DIFFERENT WORLD. 1992- 2002 223 APPENDIX ONE HONOURS AND AWARDS TO MEMBERS OF THE LABORATORY 251 APPENDIX TWO THE SUPPORT STAFF 259 APPENDIX THREE ACRONYMS 267 APPENDIX FOUR Names to photographs 273 POSTLUDE by Brian Manley CBE FREng. UK Board Member for Research 1983 -1986 277 Contents 5 84495 PHILIPS HISTORY BOOK PAGE 5 84495 Philips History Book.qxp 8/12/05 11:59 am Page 6 THE MULLARD/PHILIPS RESEARCH LABORATORIES - REDHILL 6 84495 PHILIPS HISTORY BOOK PAGE 6 84495 Philips History Book.qxp 8/12/05 11:59 am Page 7 A SHORT HISTORY 1946 - 2002 This History is dedicated to all members, past and present, of the Laboratory staff, but most particularly it is dedicated to the memory of Dr. PETER TRIER CBE FREng (1919-2005) Director of the Laboratory from 1953 to 1969 Photograph courtesy IEE Archives courtesyPhotograph IEE Dedication 7 84495 PHILIPS HISTORY BOOK PAGE 7 84495 Philips History Book.qxp 8/12/05 11:59 am Page 8 THE MULLARD/PHILIPS RESEARCH LABORATORIES - REDHILL 8 84495 PHILIPS HISTORY BOOK PAGE 8 84495 Philips History Book.qxp 8/12/05 11:59 am Page 9 A SHORT HISTORY 1946 - 2002 FOREWORD When Ad Huijser (CEO of Philips Research at the time, now CTO of Royal Philips Electronics N.V.) asked me to succeed Peter Saraga as managing director of Philips Research Laboratories in Redhill early in 2002, I could not have imagined the changes that were to take place in the global electronics industry that would again dictate the future developments at PRL. Nor could I have imagined the speed at which these changes were to take place. The Internet bubble had just burst, the manufacturing electronics industry continued to move East at an even faster pace, there was even more consolidation in the “asset-heavy” manufacturing industry, e.g. flat screen displays and semiconductors, while there was an accelerated price erosion in the consumer electronics industry driven by digital commoditisation. Philips, as a global company, having anticipated some of these trends, was in a position to act swiftly and accelerate the implementation of some key strategic decisions and this in turn had implications for Philips Research. The landscape in PRL was to change yet again as it had done many times before during its 60-year history. This is essentially the background for initiating this book – in an attempt to record the manner in which PRL transformed itself as a result of these industrial changes. Moreover, people are at the heart of Research – not only responsible for the creative output but also for implementing the changes based on a sound understanding of the industry trends and our internal businesses needs, and this book was to celebrate our people. It is thus intended as a tribute to the people who have made PRL the lab it is today, those who have contributed in different ways to its intellectual output, who were involved in ‘historic firsts’ and who have helped shape scientific and industrial developments over the years. Writing such a history after 60 years is a daunting task. I was lucky to find John Walling, a former deputy director of PRL who was willing and able to write the book. I know he Foreword 9 84495 PHILIPS HISTORY BOOK PAGE 9 84495 Philips History Book.qxp 8/12/05 11:59 am Page 10 THE MULLARD/PHILIPS RESEARCH LABORATORIES - REDHILL was not alone, in that he used a network of ex-PRL people as well as archived documentation to reconstruct the history. While the history is to celebrate our people and it is difficult to single out anyone for particular merit, there is one person, whom unfortunately I did not have the opportunity to meet – Peter Trier, the second director of PRL – who deserves special mention and to whose memory this history is dedicated. Without his active contribution – despite his illness – it would not have been possible to have the result that we have today. He not only shaped the history of PRL in real terms but also greatly influenced the shape of this book. Nevertheless, it is not complete and not everyone will be mentioned – but then that was also never the intention. The history of PRL (originally called MERL, Mullard Electronics Research Laboratory, PRL was first adopted on the 1st June 1977) mirrors the history of technology and the history of Philips growth during the last 60 years. It also reflects to a great extent the strategic thinking of Philips Research as a global organisation in accessing talent and expertise internationally. The main reason in the early days for having a research laboratory in the UK was the importance of accessing the UK expertise in areas where the UK was ahead of continental Europe. (in 1946 the key areas were those of Broadcast television, Microwaves and nuclear technology). There was a strong linkage between Research and the business and also a great many Government contracts, particularly in the area of defence. Today, exploiting our presence in the UK is again a key strategic issue for the laboratory in the UK albeit that the areas have changed and government contracts have been ‘replaced’ by EU subsidised projects. During the intervening years, company growth and international developments meant that the lab moved away somewhat from the policy of “leveraging local expertise and environment”. The growth of Philips in the early fifties led to a need for R&D resources and the re-orientation of the PRL Research programme from government-driven contracts to the Philips growth needs. The systems oriented research work extended to electronic devices and technologies, and ultimately to semiconductor and solid-state devices including magnetic materials. This was achieved with a corresponding growth in the research staff and an expansion of the site. Later on, the activities developed further to incorporate displays (from CRT’s to LCD’s,again mirroring the industrial developments!) and during more recent times included novel electronic systems for consumer interaction. This shows to some extent the transformations that the research work has undergone over the years. Looking at all these developments (made much more explicit in the pages that follow), 10 Foreword 84495 PHILIPS HISTORY BOOK PAGE 10 84495 Philips History Book.qxp 8/12/05 11:59 am Page 11 A SHORT HISTORY 1946 - 2002 we can identify the evolution of the current electronics world and the parallel need for different types of graduates – from physics and chemistry graduates to those in electronics and, more recently, computer science and software. PRL had a major strength in in-house “manufacturing” technologies (as evidenced by the linear accelerators, radar sonde, the maser amplifier for the Telstar satellite, the first transatlantic television transmission). Later on as the “knowledge” economy developed and the value of patents grew, PRL was quick to respond and today makes significant contributions to our patent portfolio in a few key areas, often driven into global (communication) standards. This also reflects the shift in value creation mechanisms over the years as well as the industrial deverticalisation that has recently taken place as a result of which Asia (China in particular) has become the manufacturing capital of the global electronics industry. The notion of a Campus is not at all new to PRL, nor indeed the concept of open innovation. In the early days, MERL was co-located on the current Redhill site with the Vacuum Physics Laboratory. Although for most of the intervening years Research was “owner” and sole occupant of the site and later managed the services for all those who moved to the site, we have recently returned the site to Corporate Real Estate and once again are on a Philips Campus. PRL is no stranger either to Open Innovation (although it was not called that at the time!). An early example is the joint GEC/Mullard semiconductor company,ASM, that eventually led to the birth of the new factory in Hazelgrove. Today, one of the key challenges for PRL is use the current knowledge and business ecosystem in the UK so that we can further develop our programme in the current open innovation context.

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