opmaak philips 14-07-2005 10:58 Pagina 1 80 Years of Research at the Philips Natuurkundig Laboratorium (1914-1994) opmaak philips 14-07-2005 10:58 Pagina 2 opmaak philips 14-07-2005 10:58 Pagina 3 80 Years of Research at the Philips Natuurkundig Laboratorium (1914-1994) The Role of the Nat.Lab. at Philips Marc J. de Vries with contributions by F. Kees Boersma Pallas Publications opmaak philips 14-07-2005 10:58 Pagina 4 Pallas Publications is an imprint of Amsterdam University Press The Foundation for the History of Technology coordinates and supports scientific research into the history of technology. The Foundation develops its own programmes. It has just finished a large programme on Technology in the Netherlands in the Twentieth Century; a seven-volume overview work has been the major output. A new international project Tensions of Europe, the role of technology in the making of Europe has started in 2001. Other projects focus on R&D history of companies and sectors and policy research using a historical perspective. The Foundation develops its projects through building networks of interested scholars, co-ordinating research interests and developing research agendas and fundraising. Often several universities participate in these projects. For more information, see www.histech.nl Layout: PROgrafici, Goes Cover design: Chaim Mesika, Hilversum isbn 90 8555 051 3 nur 680 © Pallas Publications, Amsterdam, 2005 All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the written permission of both the copyright owner and the author of the book. opmaak philips 14-07-2005 10:58 Pagina 5 Table of Contents Preface / 7 1. The Role of a Research Organisation in an Industrial Company: Motives and Themes for Writing the History of the Philips Nat.Lab. / 11 2. Prologue: The Nat.Lab.’s Early Years (1914-1923) / 19 Part I. The Nat.Lab. as a Growth and Diversification Factor in the Philips Company (1923-1946) / 31 3. Developing a Research Organisation for a Diversifying Company / 33 3.1 Philips and Technological and Economic Developments in the Netherlands in the 1923-1946 Period / 33 3.2 Supporting Company Diversification as a Nat.Lab. Goal / 35 3.3 Increasing the Laboratory’s Means / 52 3.4 The Culture and Structures for the Diversifying Research Programme / 55 3.5 Influencing the Company / 64 4. Research for Diversification in Action / 73 4.1 Gas Discharges and Mercury Lamps / 74 4.2 X-ray Tubes / 83 4.3 Ferrites / 90 4.4 Holst’s Rules Reconsidered / 96 Intermezzo I. The German Occupation and the Transition Years (1940-1946) / 99 Part II. An Autonomous Lab alongside Autonomous Product Divisions (1946-1972) / 107 5. A Research Organisation alongside Autonomous Product Divisions / 109 5 opmaak philips 14-07-2005 10:58 Pagina 6 5.1 The Economic, Social and Scientific Context in the 1950s and 1960s / 109 5.2 A New Task Profile for the Nat.Lab. / 111 5.3 Further Increase of Means / 130 5.4 Culture and Structure for a ‘Fundamental’ Research Lab in an Industrial Company / 132 5.5 Tensions in the Relationships with PDs / 137 6. The Practice of Autonomous Research / 149 6.1 The Stirling Engine / 150 6.2 The Plumbicon / 162 6.3 LOCOS: LOCal Oxidation of Silicon / 173 6.4 The VLP / 184 6.5 Inventions and Innovations / 192 Intermezzo II. Changing Attitudes towards Science and Technology (1966-1972) / 195 Part III. The Road towards Mutual Commitment (1972-1994) / 199 7. Redirecting the Research Organisation for Mutual Commitment / 201 7.1 The Problematic Economic Climate / 201 7.2 Towards a PD-oriented Task Profile / 203 7.3 Limited Resources / 215 7.4 Changes in the Lab Culture / 226 7.5 Increasing Co-operation with PDs / 229 8. Examples of the Road towards Mutual Commitment / 241 8.1 Optical Telecommunications / 242 8.2 Integrated Digital Audio Converters / 254 8.3 Magnetic Recording Heads for Consumer Video Cassette Recorders / 265 8.4 A Knowledge Centre for the Company / 274 9. Epilogue: The Dynamics of the Nat.Lab. as a Professional Organisation within the Philips Company / 277 9.1 Changes in the Role of the Nat.Lab. / 277 9.2 The Nature of Industrial Research / 279 9.3 Comparison with other Industrial Research Laboratories / 281 List of Figures / 287 Notes / 289 Index / 321 6 80 years of research at the philips natuurkundig lab. opmaak philips 14-07-2005 10:58 Pagina 7 Preface It did not take me long to decide whether or not I would accept the invi- tation to work on the historiography of the Philips Natuurkundig Labo- ratorium (‘Nat.Lab.’). The idea of writing a book about such an intrigu- ing laboratory, of which there are only a few in the world, instantly appealed to me. At the same time, I realised that it would not be a simple task. All that research was eventually to lead to this book, which was writ- ten during the period January 1997 to May 2000. I received useful advice from many people, whose contributions I want to acknowledge in this Preface. For the purposes of this research, a room was made available for me on the Nat.Lab. premises where I could build up a small archive, so that for some time I more or less became part of the laboratory that I was studying. That gave me the opportunity to experience how in some respects the past is still present in the here and now. Many a time I noticed people walking around the pond in front of ‘my’ WB building, during their lunch hour; later I found in the minutes of a meeting that had been held in 1969 a remark made by one of the managing directors of the lab, who pointed out that walking there could only be allowed as long as it did not extend into working time. The announcement made during my period of stay, that the current premises were to be extended to create a prestigious ‘sci- ence park’, immediately reminded me of the 1963 scale model that had served as a representation of the expectations for a similar type of exten- sion that did not materialise. This time the extensions have actually start- ed to be built. This example serves to illustrate the fact that today the Nat.Lab. in its capacity as part of an international, separate research organisation is (still) seen as a very valuable element of the Philips com- pany. Of all the people who deserve to be mentioned in this Preface, Dr. Feye Meijer certainly takes the first place. As a former managing director of the Philips Research department, the organisation under which the Nat.Lab. falls, he was able to open many doors for me which otherwise would have remained closed. But more importantly, he was always able to stimulate me with his personal interest and by sharing with me the knowledge that 7 opmaak philips 14-07-2005 10:58 Pagina 8 he has gained after so many years of having worked in the lab at various levels in the hierarchy. At the same time, he had great respect for the intel- lectual freedom that I needed to obtain conclusions that were not biased by his or the company’s preconceptions. From the very beginning, he was my main contact person in this research study, and he has remained that after his retirement in 1997. In the second place I want to thank Professor Harry Lintsen, who supervised the project on behalf of the Stichting Historie der Techniek (the Foundation for the History of Technology), which had been com- missioned to do this study. His knowledge about the ‘craft’ of historical research and his insight into the history of technology in the Netherlands have been extremely valuable to me. Dr. Meijer and Prof. Lintsen were members of a larger committee that served as a discussion platform set up to advise me in my research. Other members of this committee were Professor Emile Aarts (Philips Research) and Dr. Marianne Vincken (Philips Research, Public Relations). The Philips Company Archives were also represented in this committee. Each person drawing on her/his background was able to provide useful input at the discussions that we had during the three years that the group met on a regular basis. Many of the practical arrangements for this group’s meet- ings, and my temporary instalment at the Nat.Lab. premises, were made by Loes van Santvoort, who was Dr. Meijer’s secretary until his retirement. Even after Dr. Meijer’s retirement, she was always prepared to assist in all sorts of practical issues. All illustrations were used with kind permission of Philips Research. As a Ph.D. student Kees Boersma, M.Sc., played a major role in the study of the first period of the Nat.Lab.’s history (1914-1946). The text about that period is largely based on the material that he collected. His dissertation on the Holst period is entirely his own original work. I had many interesting discussions with him about this period. After he received his doctor’s degree, we continued our co-operation, and Kees contributed to the revision of the text about the Holst period. I want to thank Peter van den Berg and Margot van Gastel for the work they did on the case studies in the third main period of the Nat.Lab. history. Heleen Neggers and Kenian Domen, thank you for your work on the database of Nat.Lab.