HP Labs

HP Labs is the exploratory and advanced research group for HP Inc. HP Labs' headquarters is in Palo Alto, California and the group has research and development facilities in Bristol, UK. The development of programmable desktop calculators, inkjet printing, and 3D graphics are credited to HP Labs researchers.

This article is about the lab run by HP Inc.. For the lab run by Hewlett Packard Enterprise, see Hewlett Packard Labs.
HP Laboratories
HP Inc's logo
Formation1966
TypeResearch organization
HeadquartersPalo Alto, California
Parent organization
HP Inc.
Websitewww.hpl.hp.com
HP Labs logo prior to the split on November 1, 2015

HP Labs was established on March 3, 1966, by founders Bill Hewlett and David Packard, seeking to create an organization not bound by day-to-day business concerns.[1] HP Labs was created with the help of former Bell Labs engineer and MOSFET (MOS transistor) inventor Mohamed Atalla, who later left in 1972.[2]

The labs have downsized dramatically; in August 2007, HP executives drastically diminished the number of projects, down from 150 to 30. As of 2018, HP Labs has just over 200 researchers, compared to earlier staffing levels of 500 researchers.[3]

With the Hewlett Packard Enterprise being spun off from Hewlett-Packard in November 1, 2015 and renamed to and HP Inc., the research lab also spun off Hewlett Packard Labs to Hewlett Packard Enterprise[4] and HP Labs was kept for HP Inc.[5]

Research areas

As the Semiconductor Lab's first manager, Mohamed Atalla (who previously invented the MOSFET at Bell Labs) launched a material science investigation program that provided a base technology for gallium arsenide, gallium arsenide phosphide and indium arsenide devices. These devices became the core technology used by HP's Microwave Division to develop sweepers and network analyzers that pushed 20–40 GHz frequency, giving HP more than 90% of the military communications market by the 1970s.[6]

HP Labs was involved in HP's research and development (R&D) on practical light-emitting diodes (LEDs) between 1966 and 1969. The first practical LED displays were built at Atalla's Semiconductor Lab.[7] HP introduced the first commercial LED display in 1968.[8] In February 1969, they introduced the HP Model 5082-7000 Numeric Indicator.[7] It was the first intelligent LED display, and was a revolution in digital display technology, replacing the Nixie tube and becoming the basis for later LED displays.[9]

In 1977, HP Labs fabricated prototypes of the DMOS (double-diffused MOSFET), a type of power MOSFET. They demonstrated that it was superior to the VMOS (V-groove MOSFET) with its lower on-resistance and higher breakdown voltage. The DMOS became the most common power transistor used in power electronics.[10]

Today, HP Labs specializes in products and solutions related to laptops and tablets, desktop computers, printers, ink and toner cartridges, display accessories and business solutions.

3D printing

HP Labs has made a substantial investment in the development of HP MultiJet Fusion technology.

Directors

The following have served as Director of HP Labs since its foundation in 1966.[11]

  • Barney Oliver (1966–81)
  • John Doyle (1981–84)
  • Joel Birnbaum (1984–86 and 1991–99)
  • Don Hammond (1986–87)
  • Frank Carrubba (1987–91)
  • Ed Karrer (1999)
  • Dick Lampman (1999–2007)
  • Prith Banerjee (2007–2012)
  • Chandrakant Patel (interim; April 7, 2012 – Nov 2012)
  • Martin Fink (2012–2016)
  • Shane Wall (2016–present)

Lab locations
HP Labs Bristol

HP Labs has laboratories in two major sites:[12]

Former sites:

References
  1. "About HP Labs". Hewlett-Packard. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
  2. Bassett, Ross Knox (2007). To the Digital Age: Research Labs, Start-up Companies, and the Rise of MOS Technology. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 328. ISBN 9780801886393.
  3. "Hewlett-Packard Splits Again: But What About the Labs?". IEEE Spectrum: Technology, Engineering, and Science News. Retrieved 2018-07-12.
  4. "Hewlett Packard Labs". Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
  5. "HP Labs". HP Inc.
  6. House, Charles H.; Price, Raymond L. (2009). The HP Phenomenon: Innovation and Business Transformation. Stanford University Press. pp. 110–1. ISBN 9780804772617.
  7. Borden, Howard C.; Pighini, Gerald P. (February 1969). "Solid-State Displays" (PDF). Hewlett-Packard Journal: 2–12.
  8. Kramer, Bernhard (2003). Advances in Solid State Physics. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 40. ISBN 9783540401506.
  9. "Hewlett-Packard 5082-7000". The Vintage Technology Association. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  10. "Advances in Discrete Semiconductors March On". Power Electronics. Informa. 1 September 2005. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 March 2006. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  11. "Former HP Labs directors". HP. Archived from the original on 2014-08-03.
  12. "Worldwide sites". Hewlett-Packard. Retrieved 2007-05-15.
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