T Peter Brody
Encyclopedia
T. P. "Peter" Brody was a British-naturalised physicist
and the inventor of Active Matrix
Thin-Film Transistor
display technology, having produced the world's first Active Matrix Liquid Crystal Display (AM-LCD) in 1972 and the first functional AM-EL (electroluminescent display
) in 1973 while employed by Westinghouse Electric Corporation in Pittsburgh. Brody coined the term "active matrix" and first used it in a published journal article in 1975.
. In 1938 he left his parents and two younger brothers behind in Hungary
to learn the family trade at the London College of Printing. He was naturalised as a British subject in January 1948. He served as a designer/draftsman and worked for the Special Operations Executive
in the British Army
during and after the second world war, rising to the rank of Staff Captain.
Brody studied piano
at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
in London
winning the Lady Mayoress' Prize for piano performance in 1952. Brody met his future wife Maude M Frost at a Fabian Society
dance in London and they married in 1952.
Brody obtained a Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from the University of London
in 1953 and worked as a Senior Lecturer at the university until 1959. He moved to Pittsburgh, PA on being offerred the opportunity to work as a researcher for Westinghouse Electric Corporation.
From 1959-79 he did theoretical work on tunnel diode
s, semiconductor
device theory and experiment, injection luminescence, field emission
, pattern recognition
, later turning his interest to thin film
technology.
to drive each individual pixel
of a flat panel display
.
This form of liquid crystal display
is the dominant technology in flat panel displays.
When Westinghouse cancelled the research program in 1979, Brody resigned, and two years later founded Panelvision Corporation, the world’s first AM-LCD company. In 1983 the company introduced the first AM-LCD products into the US market. Panelvision was acquired by Litton Systems in 1985, and after a period of consulting, Dr. Brody founded Magnascreen Corporation, oriented towards very large area displays, in 1988. This venture was funded in part by Jerome Wiesner
, Richard Leghorn of Itek
, and Apple's John Sculley
, and won contracts worth $7.8 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
(DARPA).
Brody left Magnascreen in 1990 to form Active Matrix Associates, a consulting group, and over the period 1991-97 worked on a number of classified projects for DARPA. In 1998, in collaboration with two former Westinghouse colleagues, Bob Stapleton and Paul Malmberg, he invented a process for fabricating low-cost thin film electronic circuits by purely additive processes
. In 2002 he founded Amedeo Corporation (now Advantech US ), funded in part by Compaq
, dedicated to the exploitation of additive technology. The company is concentrating on the development and commercial production of low cost active matrix backplanes for emerging display technologies, including AM-OLED. He was active as Chief Scientist of Advantech US until his death at the age of 91.
Brody was a Fellow of the Society for Information Display
, and a recipient of many awards in recognition of his pioneering work, which became the foundation of a major new industry. He published over 70 scientific papers and received more than 60 patents
Brody was the first person in history to receive all three major SID awards.
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
and the inventor of Active Matrix
Active matrix
Active matrix is a type of addressing scheme used in flat panel displays. The term describes a method of switching individual elements of a flat panel display, using a CdSe or Silicon-based thin-film transistor for each pixel...
Thin-Film Transistor
Thin-film transistor
A thin-film transistor is a special kind of field-effect transistor made by depositing thin films of a semiconductor active layer as well as the dielectric layer and metallic contacts over a supporting substrate. A common substrate is glass, since the primary application of TFTs is in liquid...
display technology, having produced the world's first Active Matrix Liquid Crystal Display (AM-LCD) in 1972 and the first functional AM-EL (electroluminescent display
Electroluminescent display
Electroluminescent Displays are a type of Flat panel display created by sandwiching a layer of electroluminescent material such as GaAs between two layers of conductors. When current flows, the layer of material emits radiation in the form of visible light...
) in 1973 while employed by Westinghouse Electric Corporation in Pittsburgh. Brody coined the term "active matrix" and first used it in a published journal article in 1975.
Early life and career
From early childhood Brody was interested in sports, particularly swimming and rowing, and had a passion for classical musicClassical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
. In 1938 he left his parents and two younger brothers behind in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
to learn the family trade at the London College of Printing. He was naturalised as a British subject in January 1948. He served as a designer/draftsman and worked for the Special Operations Executive
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
during and after the second world war, rising to the rank of Staff Captain.
Brody studied piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music and dramatic arts school which was founded in 1880 in London, England. Students can pursue courses in Music, Opera, Drama and Technical Theatre Arts.-History:...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
winning the Lady Mayoress' Prize for piano performance in 1952. Brody met his future wife Maude M Frost at a Fabian Society
Fabian Society
The Fabian Society is a British socialist movement, whose purpose is to advance the principles of democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist, rather than revolutionary, means. It is best known for its initial ground-breaking work beginning late in the 19th century and continuing up to World...
dance in London and they married in 1952.
Brody obtained a Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
in 1953 and worked as a Senior Lecturer at the university until 1959. He moved to Pittsburgh, PA on being offerred the opportunity to work as a researcher for Westinghouse Electric Corporation.
From 1959-79 he did theoretical work on tunnel diode
Tunnel diode
A tunnel diode or Esaki diode is a type of semiconductor diode which is capable of very fast operation, well into the microwave frequency region, by using quantum mechanical effects....
s, semiconductor
Semiconductor
A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity due to electron flow intermediate in magnitude between that of a conductor and an insulator. This means a conductivity roughly in the range of 103 to 10−8 siemens per centimeter...
device theory and experiment, injection luminescence, field emission
Field emission
Field emission is emission of electrons induced by an electrostatic field. The most common context is FE from a solid surface into vacuum. However, FE can take place from solid or liquid surfaces, into vacuum, air, a fluid, or any non-conducting or weakly-conducting dielectric...
, pattern recognition
Pattern recognition
In machine learning, pattern recognition is the assignment of some sort of output value to a given input value , according to some specific algorithm. An example of pattern recognition is classification, which attempts to assign each input value to one of a given set of classes...
, later turning his interest to thin film
Thin film
A thin film is a layer of material ranging from fractions of a nanometer to several micrometers in thickness. Electronic semiconductor devices and optical coatings are the main applications benefiting from thin film construction....
technology.
Thin-Film Transistors
Over the years 1968-79, Brody developed many electronic uses for thin film transistors, including flexible circuits, aircraft power controls, industrial timers and others. His work at Westinghouse culminated in the invention of active matrix technology, using a CdSe TFTTFT
-Games:*Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, an expansion to the video game Warcraft III*The Fantasy Trip, a role playing game designed by Steve Jackson*Task Force Talon, a faction from the video game Act of War: Direct Action-Electronics:...
to drive each individual pixel
Pixel
In digital imaging, a pixel, or pel, is a single point in a raster image, or the smallest addressable screen element in a display device; it is the smallest unit of picture that can be represented or controlled....
of a flat panel display
Flat panel display
Flat panel displays encompass a growing number of electronic visual display technologies. They are far lighter and thinner than traditional television sets and video displays that use cathode ray tubes , and are usually less than thick...
.
This form of liquid crystal display
Liquid crystal display
A liquid crystal display is a flat panel display, electronic visual display, or video display that uses the light modulating properties of liquid crystals . LCs do not emit light directly....
is the dominant technology in flat panel displays.
When Westinghouse cancelled the research program in 1979, Brody resigned, and two years later founded Panelvision Corporation, the world’s first AM-LCD company. In 1983 the company introduced the first AM-LCD products into the US market. Panelvision was acquired by Litton Systems in 1985, and after a period of consulting, Dr. Brody founded Magnascreen Corporation, oriented towards very large area displays, in 1988. This venture was funded in part by Jerome Wiesner
Jerome Wiesner
Jerome Bert Wiesner was an educator, a Science Advisor to U.S. Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy and Johnson, an advocate for arms control, and a critic of anti-ballistic-missile defense systems...
, Richard Leghorn of Itek
Itek
Itek Corporation was a US defense contractor that initially specialized in the field of camera systems for spy satellites. In the early 1960s they built a conglomerate in a fashion similar to LTV or Litton, during which time they developed the first CAD system and explored optical disk technology...
, and Apple's John Sculley
John Sculley
John Sculley is an American businessman. Sculley was vice-president and president of PepsiCo , until he became CEO of Apple on April 8, 1983, a position he held until leaving in 1993...
, and won contracts worth $7.8 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of new technology for use by the military...
(DARPA).
Brody left Magnascreen in 1990 to form Active Matrix Associates, a consulting group, and over the period 1991-97 worked on a number of classified projects for DARPA. In 1998, in collaboration with two former Westinghouse colleagues, Bob Stapleton and Paul Malmberg, he invented a process for fabricating low-cost thin film electronic circuits by purely additive processes
Additive manufacturing
Additive manufacturing is defined by ASTM as the "process of joining materials to make objects from 3D model data, usually layer upon layer, as opposed to subtractive manufacturing methodologies, such as traditional machining...
. In 2002 he founded Amedeo Corporation (now Advantech US ), funded in part by Compaq
Compaq
Compaq Computer Corporation is a personal computer company founded in 1982. Once the largest supplier of personal computing systems in the world, Compaq existed as an independent corporation until 2002, when it was acquired for US$25 billion by Hewlett-Packard....
, dedicated to the exploitation of additive technology. The company is concentrating on the development and commercial production of low cost active matrix backplanes for emerging display technologies, including AM-OLED. He was active as Chief Scientist of Advantech US until his death at the age of 91.
Brody was a Fellow of the Society for Information Display
Society for Information Display
The Society for Information Display is an industry organization for displays, generally electronic displays such as televisions and computer monitors. SID was founded in 1962. Its main activities are publishing technical journals and running Display Week, its main conference, held in May each year...
, and a recipient of many awards in recognition of his pioneering work, which became the foundation of a major new industry. He published over 70 scientific papers and received more than 60 patents
Awards and honors
| Society for Information Display Society for Information Display The Society for Information Display is an industry organization for displays, generally electronic displays such as televisions and computer monitors. SID was founded in 1962. Its main activities are publishing technical journals and running Display Week, its main conference, held in May each year... (SID) Special Recognition Award |
1976 |
| SID Fellowship | 1983 |
| SID Karl Ferdinand Braun Prize | 1987 |
| Rank Prize in Optoelectronics (UK) | 1988 |
| Eduard Rhein Prize (Germany) | 1988 |
| IEEE Jun-Ichi Nishizawa Medal | 2011 |
Brody was the first person in history to receive all three major SID awards.