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Mohamed Martin Atalla | |
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| محمد عطاالله | |
 Mohamed Atalla as Director of Semiconductor Research atHP Associates in 1963 | |
| Born | August 4, 1924 |
| Died | December 30, 2009(2009-12-30) (aged 85) Atherton, California, USA |
| Other names |
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| Education | |
| Known for | |
| Children | Bill Atalla[1] |
| Engineering career | |
| Discipline | |
| Institutions | |
| Awards | |
Mohamed M. Atalla (Arabic:محمد عطاالله; August 4, 1924 – December 30, 2009) was anEgyptian-American engineer,physicist,cryptographer, inventor and entrepreneur. He was asemiconductor pioneer who made important contributions to modernelectronics. He is best known for inventing, along with his colleagueDawon Kahng, theMOSFET (metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor, or MOS transistor) in 1959, which along with Atalla's earliersurface passivation processes, had a significant impact on the development of theelectronics industry. He is also known as the founder of thedata security companyAtalla Corporation (nowUtimaco Atalla), founded in 1972. He received theStuart Ballantine Medal (now theBenjamin Franklin Medal in physics) and was inducted into theNational Inventors Hall of Fame for his important contributions to semiconductor technology as well as data security.
Born inPort Said, Egypt, he was educated atCairo University in Egypt and thenPurdue University in the United States, before joiningBell Labs in 1949 and later adopting the more anglicized "John" or "Martin"M. Atalla as professional names. He made several important contributions to semiconductor technology at Bell Labs, including his development of the surface passivation process and his demonstration of the MOSFET with Kahng in 1959.
His work on MOSFET was initially overlooked at Bell, which led to his resignation from Bell and joiningHewlett-Packard (HP), founding its Semiconductor Lab in 1962 and thenHP Labs in 1966, before leaving to joinFairchild Semiconductor, founding its Microwave & Optoelectronics division in 1969. His work at HP and Fairchild included research onSchottky diode,gallium arsenide (GaAs),gallium arsenide phosphide (GaAsP),indium arsenide (InAs) andlight-emitting diode (LED) technologies. He later left thesemiconductor industry, and became an entrepreneur incryptography anddata security. In 1972, he founded Atalla Corporation, and filed apatent for a remotePersonal Identification Number (PIN) security system. In 1973, he released the firsthardware security module, the "Atalla Box", whichencrypted PIN andATM messages, and went on to secure the majority of the world's ATM transactions. He later founded theInternet security company TriStrata Security in the 1990s. He died inAtherton,California, on December 30, 2009.
Mohamed Mohamed Atalla[2][3][4] was born inPort Said,Kingdom of Egypt.[5] He studied atCairo University in Egypt, where he received hisBachelor of Science degree. He later moved to the United States to studymechanical engineering atPurdue University. There, he received hismaster's degree (MSc) in 1947 and hisdoctorate (PhD) in 1949, both inmechanical engineering.[5] His MScthesis was titled "High Speed Flow in Square Diffusers"[6][page needed] and hisPhD thesis was titled "High Speed Compressible Flow in Square Diffusers".[3]
After completing his PhD atPurdue University, Atalla was employed atBell Telephone Laboratories (BTL) in 1949.[7] In 1950, he began working at Bell'sNew York City operations, where he worked on problems related to the reliability ofelectromechanical relays,[8] and worked oncircuit-switched telephone networks.[9] With the emergence oftransistors, Atalla was moved to theMurray Hill lab, where he began leading a small transistor research team in 1956.[8] Despite coming from amechanical engineering background and having no formal education inphysical chemistry, he proved himself to be a quick learner in physical chemistry andsemiconductor physics, eventually demonstrating a high level of skill in these fields.[10] He researched, among other things, the surface properties ofsiliconsemiconductors and the use ofsilica as a protective layer of siliconsemiconductor devices.[7] He eventually adopted thepseudonyms "Martin" M. Atalla or "John" M. Atalla for his professional career.[4]
Between 1956 and 1960, Atalla led a small team of several BTL researchers, including Eileen Tannenbaum, Edwin Joseph Scheibner andDawon Kahng.[11] They were new recruits at BTL, like himself, with no senior researchers on the team. Their work was initially not taken seriously by senior management at BTL and its ownerAT&T, due to the team consisting of new recruits, and due to the team leader Atalla himself coming from a mechanical engineering background, in contrast to thephysicists,physical chemists andmathematicians who were taken more seriously, despite Atalla demonstrating advanced skills in physical chemistry and semiconductor physics.[10]
Despite working mostly on their own,[10] Atalla and his team made significant advances in semiconductor technology.[11] According toFairchild Semiconductor engineerChih-Tang Sah, the work of Atalla and his team during 1956–1960 was "the most important and significant technology advance" in silicon semiconductor technology.[11]
An initial focus of Atalla's research was to solve the problem of siliconsurface states. At the time, theelectrical conductivity ofsemiconductor materials such asgermanium andsilicon were limited by unstablequantum surface states,[12] whereelectrons are trapped at the surface, due todangling bonds that occur becauseunsaturated bonds are present at the surface.[13] This preventedelectricity from reliably penetrating the surface to reach the semiconducting silicon layer.[7][14] Due to the surface state problem, germanium was the dominant semiconductor material of choice fortransistors and othersemiconductor devices in the earlysemiconductor industry, as germanium was capable of highercarrier mobility.[15][16]
He made a breakthrough with his development of thesurface passivation process.[7] This is the process by which a semiconductor surface is renderedinert, and does not change semiconductor properties as a result of interaction with air or other materials in contact with the surface or edge of thecrystal. The surface passivation process was first developed by Atalla in the late 1950s.[7][17] He discovered that the formation of athermally grownsilicon dioxide (SiO2) layer greatly reduced the concentration ofelectronic states at the silicon surface,[17] and discovered the important quality of SiO2films to preserve the electrical characteristics ofp–n junctions and prevent these electrical characteristics from deteriorating by the gaseous ambient environment.[18] He found thatsilicon oxide layers could be used to electrically stabilizesilicon surfaces.[19] He developed the surface passivation process, a new method ofsemiconductor device fabrication that involves coating asilicon wafer with an insulating layer of silicon oxide so that electricity could reliably penetrate to the conducting silicon below. By growing a layer ofsilicon dioxide on top of a silicon wafer, Atalla was able to overcome thesurface states that prevented electricity from reaching the semiconducting layer. His surface passivation method was a critical step that made possible the ubiquity of siliconintegrated circuits, and later became critical to the semiconductor industry.[7][14] For the surface passivation process, he developed the method ofthermal oxidation, which was a breakthrough in silicon semiconductor technology.[20]
Atalla first published his findings in BTL memos during 1957, before presenting his work at anElectrochemical Society meeting in 1958,[21][22] the Radio Engineers' Semiconductor Device Research Conference.[8] The semiconductor industry saw the potential significance of Atalla's surface oxidation method, withRCA calling it a "milestone in the surface field."[8] The same year, he made further refinements to the process with his colleagues Eileen Tannenbaum and Edwin Joseph Scheibner, before they published their results in May 1959.[23][24] According toFairchild Semiconductor engineerChih-Tang Sah, the surface passivation process developed by Atalla and his team "blazed the trail" that led to the development of the silicon integrated circuit.[25][23] Atalla'ssilicon transistor passivation technique by thermal oxide[26] was the basis for several important inventions in 1959: theMOSFET (MOS transistor) by Atalla andDawon Kahng at Bell Labs, theplanar process byJean Hoerni atFairchild Semiconductor.[22][25][27]
Building on his earlier pioneering research[28] on the surface passivation and thermal oxidation processes,[20] Atalla developed themetal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) process.[7] Atalla then proposed that afield effect transistor–a concept first envisioned in the 1920s and confirmed experimentally in the 1940s, but not achieved as a practical device—be built of metal-oxide-silicon. Atalla assigned the task of assisting him toDawon Kahng, a Korean scientist who had recently joined his group.[7] That led to the invention of theMOSFET (metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor) by Atalla and Kahng,[29][30] in November 1959.[8] Atalla and Kahng first demonstrated the MOSFET in early 1960.[31][32] With itshigh scalability,[33] and much lower power consumption and higher density thanbipolar junction transistors,[34] the MOSFET made it possible to buildhigh-densityintegrated circuit (IC) chips.[35]
In 1960, Atalla and Kahngfabricated the first MOSFET with agate oxide thickness of100 nm, along with agate length of20 μm.[36] In 1962, Atalla and Kahng fabricated ananolayer-basemetal–semiconductor junction (M–S junction) transistor. This device has a metallic layer withnanometric thickness sandwiched between two semiconducting layers, with the metal forming the base and the semiconductors forming the emitter and collector. With its low resistance and short transit times in the thin metallic nanolayer base, the device was capable of high operationfrequency compared tobipolar transistors. Their pioneering work involved depositing metal layers (the base) on top ofsingle crystalsemiconductor substrates (the collector), with the emitter being acrystalline semiconductor piece with a top or a blunt corner pressed against the metallic layer (the point contact). They depositedgold (Au)thin films with a thickness of10 nm onn-typegermanium (n-Ge), while the point contact was n-type silicon (n-Si).[37] Atalla resigned from BTL in 1962.[30]
Extending their work on MOS technology, Atalla and Kahng next did pioneering work onhot carrier devices, which used what would later be called aSchottky barrier.[38] TheSchottky diode, also known as the Schottky-barrier diode, was theorized for years, but was first practically realized as a result of the work of Atalla and Kahng during 1960–1961.[39] They published their results in 1962 and called their device the "hot electron" triode structure with semiconductor-metal emitter.[40] It was one of the firstmetal-base transistors.[41] The Schottky diode went on to assume a prominent role inmixer applications.[39]
In 1962, Atalla joinedHewlett-Packard, where he co-founded Hewlett-Packard and Associates (HP Associates), which provided Hewlett-Packard with fundamentalsolid-state capabilities.[5] He was the Director of Semiconductor Research at HP Associates,[30] and the first manager of HP's Semiconductor Lab.[42]
He continued research onSchottky diodes, while working with Robert J. Archer, at HP Associates. They developed highvacuummetal filmdeposition technology,[43] and fabricated stableevaporated/sputteredcontacts,[44][45] publishing their results in January 1963.[46] Their work was a breakthrough inmetal–semiconductor junction[44] andSchottky barrier research, as it overcame most of thefabrication problems inherent inpoint-contact diodes and made it possible to build practical Schottky diodes.[43]
At the Semiconductor Lab during the 1960s, he launched amaterial science investigation program that provided a base technology forgallium arsenide (GaAs),gallium arsenide phosphide (GaAsP) andindium arsenide (InAs) devices. These devices became the core technology used by HP's Microwave Division to develop sweepers andnetwork analyzers that pushed 20–40 GHz frequency, giving HP more than 90% of themilitary communications market.[42]
Atalla helped createHP Labs in 1966. He directed its solid-state division.[5]
In 1969, he left HP and joinedFairchild Semiconductor.[38] He was the vice president and general manager of the Microwave & Optoelectronics division,[47] from its inception in May 1969 up until November 1971.[48] He continued his work onlight-emitting diodes (LEDs), proposing they could be used for indicator lights andoptical readers in 1971.[49] He later left Fairchild in 1972.[38]
He left thesemiconductor industry in 1972, and began a new career as an entrepreneur indata security[38] andcryptography.[50] In 1972,[50] he founded Atalla Technovation,[51] later calledAtalla Corporation, which dealt with safety problems ofbanking andfinancial institutions.[52]
He invented the firsthardware security module (HSM),[53] the so-called "Atalla Box", a security system that secures a majority of transactions fromATMs today. At the same time, Atalla contributed to the development of thepersonal identification number (PIN) system, which has developed among others in the banking industry as the standard for identification.
The work of Atalla in the early 1970s led to the use ofhardware security modules. His "Atalla Box", a security system whichencryptsPIN and ATM messages, and protected offline devices with an un-guessable PIN-generating key.[54] He commercially released the "Atalla Box" in 1973.[54] The product was released as the Identikey. It was a card reader andcustomer identification system, providing a terminal withplastic card and PIN capabilities. The system was designed to letbanks andthrift institutions switch to a plastic card environment from apassbook program. The Identikey system consisted of a card reader console, two customerPIN pads, intelligent controller and built-in electronic interface package.[55] The device consisted of two keypads, one for the customer and one for the teller. It allowed the customer to type in a secret code, which is transformed by the device, using amicroprocessor, into another code for the teller.[56] During atransaction, the customer'saccount number was read by the card reader. This process replaced manual entry and avoided possible key stroke errors. It allowed users to replace traditional customer verification methods such as signature verification and test questions with a secure PIN system.[55]
A key innovation of the Atalla Box was the keyblock, which is required to securely interchangesymmetric keys or PINs with other actors of the banking industry. This secure interchange is performed using theAtalla Key Block (AKB) format, which lies at the root of all cryptographic block formats used within thePayment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) andAmerican National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards.[57]
Fearful that Atalla would dominate the market, banks and credit card companies began working on an international standard.[54] Its PIN verification process was similar to the laterIBM 3624.[58] Atalla was an early competitor toIBM in the banking market, and was cited as an influence by IBM employees who worked on theData Encryption Standard (DES).[51] In recognition of his work on the PIN system ofinformation security management, Atalla has been referred to as the "Father of the PIN"[5][59][60] and as a father ofinformation security technology.[61]
The Atalla Box protected over 90% of all ATM networks in operation as of 1998,[62] and secured 85% of all ATM transactions worldwide as of 2006.[63] Atalla products still secure the majority of the world's ATM transactions, as of 2014.[53]
In 1972, Atalla filedU.S. patent 3,938,091 for a remote PIN verification system, which utilizedencryption techniques to assure telephone link security while entering personal ID information, which would be transmitted as encrypted data overtelecommunications networks to a remote location for verification. This was a precursor totelephone banking,Internet security ande-commerce.[51]
At the National Association of Mutual Savings Banks (NAMSB) conference in January 1976, Atalla announced an upgrade to its Identikey system, called the Interchange Identikey. It added the capabilities ofprocessingonline transactions and dealing withnetwork security. Designed with the focus of takingbank transactionsonline, the Identikey system was extended to shared-facility operations. It was consistent and compatible with variousswitchingnetworks, and was capable of resetting itself electronically to any one of 64,000 irreversiblenonlinearalgorithms as directed bycard data information. The Interchange Identikey device was released in March 1976. It was one of the first products designed to deal with online transactions, along withBunker Ramo Corporation products unveiled at the same NAMSB conference.[56] In 1979, Atalla introduced the firstnetworksecurity processor (NSP).[64]
In 1987, Atalla Corporation merged withTandem Computers. Atalla went into retirement in 1990.
As of 2013, 250 millioncard transactions are protected by Atalla products every day.[50]
It was not long until several executives of large banks persuaded him to develop security systems for theInternet to work. They were worried about the fact that no useful framework for electronic commerce would have been possible at that time without innovation in the computer and network security industry.[5] Following a request from formerWells Fargo Bank presidentWilliam Zuendt in 1993, Atalla began developing a newInternet security technology, allowing companies to scramble and transmit secure computer files,e-mail, anddigital video andaudio, over the internet.[59]
As a result of these activities, he founded the company TriStrata Security in 1996.[65] In contrast to most conventional computer security systems at the time, which built walls around a company's entire computer network to protect the information within from thieves or corporate spies, TriStrata took a different approach. Its security system wrapped a secure, encrypted envelope around individual pieces of information (such as aword processing file, a customerdatabase, or e-mail) that can only be opened and deciphered with an electronic permit, allowing companies to control which users have access to this information and the necessary permits.[59] It was considered a new approach to enterprise security at the time.[5]
Atalla was the chairman of A4 System, as of 2003.[5]
He lived inAtherton,California. Atalla died on December 30, 2009, in Atherton.[66]
Atalla was awarded theStuart Ballantine Medal (now theBenjamin Franklin Medal in physics) at the 1975Franklin Institute Awards, for his important contributions to silicon semiconductor technology and his invention of the MOSFET.[67][68] In 2003, Atalla received aDistinguished Alumnus doctorate fromPurdue University.[5]
In 2009, he was inducted into theNational Inventors Hall of Fame for his important contributions to semiconductor technology as well as data security.[7] He was referred to as one of the "Sultans of Silicon" along with several other semiconductor pioneers.[32]
In 2014, the 1959 invention of the MOSFET was included on thelist of IEEE milestones in electronics.[69] In 2015, Atalla was inducted into theIT History Society's IT Honor Roll for his important contributions toinformation technology.[70]
Hoerni also attended a meeting of the Electrochemical Society in 1958, where Mohamed "John" Atalla presented a paper about passivation of PN junctions by oxide. [...] Mohamed M. Atalla, alias Martin or John Atalla, graduated from Cairo University in Egypt and for his master and doctorate degrees he attended Purdue University.
Those of us active in silicon material and device research during 1956–1960 considered this successful effort by the Bell Labs group led by Atalla to stabilize the silicon surface the most important and significant technology advance, which blazed the trail that led to silicon integrated circuit technology developments in the second phase and volume production in the third phase.
Dr. Atalla was general manager of the Microwave & Optoelectronics division from its inception in May 1969 until November 1971 when it was incorporated into the Semiconductor Components Group.
Its chief, John Atalla – Greene's predecessor at Hewlett-Packard – sees early applications for LEDs in small displays, principally for indicator lights. Because of their compatibility with integrated circuits, these light emitters can be valuable in fault detection. "Reliability has already been demonstrated beyond any doubt," Atalla continues. "No special power supplies are required. Design takes no time, you just put the diode in. So introduction becomes strictly an economic question."Bright Outlook for Optical Readers Atalla is particularly sanguine about applications of diodes in high-volume optical readers.
Three scientists were named recipients of the Franklin lnstitute's Stuart Ballantine Medal in 1975 [...] Martin M. Atalla, president of Atalla Technovations in California, and Dawon Kahng of Bell Laboratories were chosen "for their contributions to semiconductor silicon-silicon dioxide technology, and for the development of the MOS insulated gate, field-effect transistor.
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