LILIENFELD,JULIUS,EDGAR - LIFE AND PROFESSION

Born in Lemberg (now Lwow or Lviv) on April 18th 1882 Lilienfeld got h is Ph. D. at Berlin University and a professorship from 1916-1926 at t he Physics Institute of Leipzig University. Here he studied Die Elektr izitatsleitung im extremen Vakuum, i. e., 'the conduction of electrici ty in an extreme vacuum'. As a result he built improved X-ray tubes wi thout the usual gas filling which were called Lilienfeld tubes. In Lei pzig he built and operated a low temperature physics laboratory and im proved the vacuum by use of liquid air and liquid hydrogen and thoroug h degassing of all metal parts of the tubes, a technique later used an d known as ultrahigh vacuum techniques. In Leipzig he claimed to have found a new field emission phenomenon, called later the;iona effect an d for patent reasons went to the United States. He held several US pat ents on field effect transistors proposing a new idea for a solid stat e amplifier and ''predated the work of Shockley, Brattain and Bardeen by nearly 20 years''. He died in the United States in 1963. His life a nd work will be illustrated by his publications and patents and by som e documents from the Berlin and Leipzig University archives.