CCD: A Brief History
CCD stands for Charge-coupled Devices. It is the tool that converts optic images into electronic signals. So why is CCD so important? It allows for high resolution imaging, making multiple camera types available.
What is the real story about CCD and its importance in the world of images? CCD was invented in 1969 at Bell Labs. The story behind the inspired development of CCD was one born of desperation. In 1969 Bell Labs was run by Vice President Jack Morton.
There were two major departments in the Electronics Division. One was working on semiconductor designs and one department handled all other projects. Between the two divisions there were three different projects in development. They were Magnetic bubbles, Picturephone’s silicon diode array vidicon, and MOS (metal oxide semiconductor) technology. It would later be referred to as the MOS capacitor (Boster/ Behm).
VP Jack Morton really liked the Magnetic bubble project and pushed for it. He went to the semiconductor department headed by William (Bill) Boyle, and told him that if he didn’t have a project that could compete with Magnetic bubbles, Boyle would lose funding to the other department.
The story about what happened next is that Boyle called George E. Smith into his office for a brainstorming session. Smith says they spent a little over an hour in the office together.
