Fritzsche H., Schwartz B. Stanford R. Ovshinsky: The Science and Technology of an American Genius

World Scientific, 2008. — 380 p.
This book highlights the achievements of the self-taught inventor, scientist, manufacturer and entrepreneur, Stanford R. Ovshinsky (1922-2012). This remarkable individual could, without special training, compete with the well-funded establishments of learning and industry in the second half of the last century and leave us an incredible legacy of brilliant innovations with a lasting impact on our lives. His achievements extend over amazingly diverse fields and have or are prone to create new industries of great societal value.
The phase change memories of commonly used rewritable CDs and DVDs as well as of new flash memories are his invention; so are the Ni Metal hydride batteries which are the enabling batteries for electric and hybrid/electric vehicles. The future hydrogen economy will utilize his efficient and safe hydrogen storage alloys. He has developed light and ultralight photovoltaic solar panels for converting sunlight into electricity and built the largest manufacturing facility for thin film flexible solar roofing materials. A common theme of his inventions is the synthesis of new materials utilizing novel aspects of structural and compositional disorder.
The book explains for each of Ovshinsky's innovations the essence of his pioneering ideas and inventions. These introductions are followed by a selection of Ovshinsky's seminal publications and, for each subject category, a list of his patents which reveal the inventive mind of this unusually creative person. Ovshinsky's example of gaining a deep understanding of the science underlying his inventions, his perseverance as well as his ability to attract and inspire talented collaborators will be a role model for entrepreneurs of this century.Stan Ovshinsky
New Science
Fundamentals of Amorphous Materials, Stanford R. Ovshinsky, Physical Properties of Amorphous Materials, D. Adler, B.B. Schwartz and M.C. Steele eds. Plenum Press, (1985) pp 105-155.
Amorphous Materials, Past, Present and Future, S. R. Ovshinsky, J. Non-Crystalline Solids, 73 (1985) pp 395-408.
Amorphous and Disordered Materials - The Basis of New Industries, S. R. Ovshinsky, Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc., 554 (1999) pp 399-412.
Selected Publications.
Phase Change Memory
Optically Induced Phase Changes in Amorphous Materials, S. R. Ovshinsky, J. Non-Crystalline Solids, 141 (1992) pp 200-203.
The Relationship Between Crystal Structure and Performance as Optical Recording Media in Te-Ge-Sb Thin Films, D. Strand, J. Gonzalez-Hernandez, B.S. Chao, S.R. Ovshinsky, P. Gasiorowski and D.A. Pawlik, Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc., 230 (1992) pp 251-256.
Ovonic Phase Change Memory Making Possible New Optical and Electrical Devices, S.R. Ovshinsky, 9th Symposium on Phase Change Recording, Japan, (1997) pp 44-49.
Phase-Change Optical Storage Media, Takeo Ohta and S.R. Ovshinsky, Photo-Induced Metastability in Amorphous Semiconductors, Ed. AV. Kolobov, Wiley-VCH (2003) pp 310-326.
Optical Cognitive Information Processing - A New Field, S.R. Ovshinsky, Japan. J. of Appl. Phys. 43 (2004) pp 4695-4699.
Innovation Providing New Multiple Functions in Phase-change Materials to Achieve Cognitive Computing, S. R. Ovshinsky and B. Pashmakov, Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc., 803 (2004) pp 49-60.
Ovonic Chalcogenide Non-Binary Electrical and Optical Devices, S.R. Ovshinsky, Proc. SPIE, 7th Intl. Symp. on Optical Storage, China, 5966 (2005) pp 1-6.
Selected Publications and Patents.
Conversion of Solar Energy: Photovoltaics
Yield and Performance of Amorphous Silicon Based Solar Cells Using RoII-To-Roll Deposition, K. Hoffman, P. Nath, J. Call, G. Didio, C. Vogeli and S.R. Ovshinsky, IEEE - Proc. of the 20th Photovoltaic Specialists Conf., Las Vegas, (1988) pp 293-295.
Lightweight Flexible Rooftop PV Module, M. Izu, H.C. Ovshinsky, K. Whelan, L. Fatalski, S.R. Ovshinsky, T. Glatfelter, K. Younan, K. Hoffman, A. Banerjee, J. Yang and S. Guha, IEEE - First World Conf. on Photovoltaic Energy Conv., Hawaii, (1994) pp 990-993.
The Material Basis of Efficiency and Stability in Amorphous Photovoltaics, S.R. Ovshinsky, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, 32 (1994) pp 443-449.
Amorphous Silicon Alloy Photovoltaic Technology - From R&D to Production, S. Guha, J. Yang, A. Banerjee, T. Glatfelter, K. Hoffman, S.R. Ovshinsky, M. Izu, H.C. Ovshinsky and X. Oeng, Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 336 (1994) pp 645-655.
PV Metal Roofing Module, T. Ellison, L. Fatalski, R. Kopf, H. Ovshinsky, M. Izu, R. Souleyrette, K. Whelan, S.R. Ovshinsky, J. Wiehagen and L. Zarker, IEEE - Proc. 25th Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (1996) pp 1437-1440.
Effect of Hydrogen Dilution on the Structure of Amorphous Silicon Alloys, D.V. Tsu, B.S. Chao, S.R. Ovshinsky, S. Guha, and J.Yang, Appl. Phys. Lett., 71 (1997) pp 1317-1319.
Heterogeneity in Hydrogenated Silicon: Evidence for Intermediately Ordered Chainlike Objects, D.V. Tsu, B.S. Chao, S.R. Ovshinsky, S.J. Jones, J. Yang, S. Guha and R. Tsu, Phys. Rev. B, 63 (2001) pp 43-51.
25/30 MW Ovonic Roll-to-Roll PV Manufacturing Machines, S.R Ovshinsky and M. Izu, PVSEC-15, Shanghai, China, (2005) pp 1-2.
Selected Publications and Patents.
Batteries
Alloy Effects on Cycle Life of Ni-MH Batteries, M. A. Fetcenko, S. Venkatesan, S.R Ovshinsky, K. Kajita, M. Hirota and H. Kidou, 17th Intl. Power Sources Symp., England, 17th-PS13, (1991) pp 149-163.
Selection of Metal Hydride Alloys for Electrochemical Applications, M.A. Fetcenko, S. Venkatesan and S.R Ovshinsky, Electrochemical Soc. Proc. 92-5 (1992) pp 141-167.
A Nickel Metal Hydride Battery for Electric Vehicles, S. R Ovshinsky, M.A. Fetcenko and J. Ross, Science 260 (1993) pp 176-181.
Disordered Materials in Consumer and Electric Vehicle Nickel Metal Hydride Batteries, S.R Ovshinsky, M.A. Fetcenko, S. Venkatesan and B. Chao, Electrochemical Soc. Proc. 94-21 (1994) pp 344-362.
Nickel/Metal Hydride Technology for Consumer and Electric Vehicle Batteries - A Review and Up-Date, S.K. Dhar, S.R Ovshinsky, P.R. Gifford, D.A. Corrigan, M.A. Fetcenko and S. Venkatesan, J. Power Sources, 65 (1997) pp 1-7.
Nickel-Metal Hydride: Ready to Serve, R C. Stempel, S.R Ovshinsky, P.R Gifford and D.A. Corrigan, IEEE Spectrum, 35 (1998) pp 29-34.
Development of High Catalytic Activity Disordered Hydrogen-Storage Alloys for Electrochemical Application in Nickel-Metal Hydride Batteries, S.R Ovshinsky and M. A. Fetcenko, Applied Physics A 72 (2001) pp 239-244.
Selected Publications and Patents.
Hydrogen Storage, Fuel Cells and the Hydrogen Energy Loop
Effect of Alloy Composition on the Structure of Zr Based Metal Alloys, B.S. Chao, RC. Young, S.R Ovshinsky, D.A. Pawlik, B. Huang, J.S. Im and B.C. Chakoumakos, Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 575 (2000) pp 193-198.
Hydrogen-Fueled Hybrid: Pathway to a Hydrogen Economy, R. Geiss, B. Webster, S.R. Ovshinsky, R. Stempel, R.C. Young, Y. Li, V. Myasnikov, B. Falls and A. Lutz, Society of Automotive Engineers - SAE, 2004-01-0060 (2003) pp 1-13.
A Hydrogen ICE Vehicle Powered by Ovonic Metal Hydride Storage, R.C. Young, B. Chao, Y. Li, V. Myasnikov, B. Huang and S.R. Ovshinsky, Society of Automotive Engineers - SAE, 2004-01-0699 (2003) pp 1-11.
New Science and Technology, The Basis of the Hydrogen Economy, S.R. Ovshinsky, Mat. Res. Soc. Symp.Proc. 801 (2004) pp 3-14.
Ovonic Instant Start Fuel Cells for UPS and Emergency Power Applications, K. Fok, S. Venkatesan, D.A. Corrigan and S.R. Ovshinsky, National Hydrogen Association Ann. Conf. (2005) pp 1-8.
Selected Publications and Patents.
Superconductivity
Superconductivity at 155 K, S. R. Ovshinsky, R.T. Young, D.O. Allred, G. DeMaggio and G.A. Van der Leeden, Phys. Rev. Lett. 58 (1987) pp 2579-2581.
A Structural Chemical Model for High Tc Ceramic Superconductors, S.R. Ovshinsky, S.J. Hudgens, R.L. Lintvedt and D.B. Rorabacher, Modern Phys. Lett. B 1 (1987) pp 275-288.
The Origin of Pairing in High-T c Superconductors, S.R. Ovshinsky, Chem. Phys. Lett. 195 (1992) pp 455-456.
High Quality Epitaxial YBCO (F) Films Directly Deposited on Sapphire, R.T. Young, K.H. Young, M.D. Muller, S.R. Ovshinsky, J.D. Budai, C.W. White and J.S. Martens, Physica C 200 (1992) pp 437-441.
A Mechanism for High Temperature Superconductivity, S.R.Ovshinsky, Applied Superconductivity 1 (1993) pp 263-367.
Selected Publications and Patents.
Other Topics of Interest
Comment on 'Vacuum Catastrophe: An Elementary Exposition of the Cosmological Constant Problem' by Ronald J. Adler, Brendan Casey, and Ovid C. Jacob [Am. J. Phys. 63 (7), 620-626 (1995)], S.R. Ovshinsky and H. Fritzsche, Am. J. Phys. 65 (1997) pp 927.
Mott's Room, S.R. Ovshinsky, in Nevill Mott- Reminiscences and Appreciations, Ed. E.A. Davis (Taylor & Francis Ltd, 1998) pp 282-285.
Creativity and Intuition: A Physicists Looks at East and West by Hideki Yukawa, Book Review by S.R. Ovshinsky, Disordered Materials: Science and Technology, D. Adler, B.B. Schwartz and Marvin Silver, eds. Plenum Press, (1991) pp 384-385.
A Nation of Fliers: German Aviation and the Popular Imagination, by Peter Fritzsche, Book Review by S.R. Ovshinsky, Dissent Summer (1993) pp 394.
The Road to Decarbonized Energy: Speeding Towards a Hydrogen Economy - and the Obstacles along the Way, Book Review by S.R. Ovshinsky, Nature 406 (2000) pp 457-458.
Technology's Tortoise and Hare: The Sociological Dynamics Are Now Right for the Electric Car to Eclipse Its Rival, Book Review by S.R. Ovshinsky, Nature 408 (2000) pp 289-290.
Superconductivity in Fluorinated Copper Oxide Ceramics, by S.R. Ovshinsky, R.T. Young, B.S. Chao, G. Fournier and D.A. Pawlik, Reviews of Solid State Science 1 (2), (1987) pp 207-219.