The
Vision Realized
In 1959 Howard Hughes was looking specifically for a site that offered isolation and thus complete
focus for the research scientists coming from previous locations spread over Los Angeles, California. He found just what he
was looking for in Malbu, California–complete with a newly finished structure to accommodate immediate occupation.
Today HRL Laboratories, LLC retains the spectacular view and isolation in the hills overlooking
Malibu and the Pacific Ocean, and the objectives remain very much the same — but now HRL is the central research facility
for LLC Member companies Boeing and General Motors and their divisions instead of the single advanced electronics corporation,
Hughes Aircraft.
The original mission of Hughes Research Labs was to upgrade microwave systems by developing superior
traveling wave tube transmitters. But the breakthrough that got the most attention was right after the move-in to the Malibu
facility — the first working laser.
Many other laser-related and key enabling inventions followed. A relatively unnoticed at the time
but seminal invention was the ion-implanted, self-aligned gate metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) field Effect Transistor (SAGFET).
Conceived by HRL inventor Robert Bower in 1965, his device became the basis for all modern integrated circuits. According to
the National Inventor's Hall of Fame, "Indeed, the SAGFET is
the most replicated man made structure in the history of mankind."
Ion implantation technology continues to evolve, from silicon, to gallium arsenide, to gallium
nitride, and to indium phosphide devices, enabling HRL to remain a leader in integrated circuits. Custom optical fibers and
integrated optical circuits pioneered at the Labs in the early 1970 resulted in the development of high-speed integrated optical
modulators, detectors, and switches.
Hughes Research Labs was also an early leader in artificial intelligence. In 1984, the Labs' Artificial
Intelligence Center generated software for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Autonomous Land Vehicle,
which demonstrated the world's first autonoumous navigation
of cross-country terrain.
The first Liquid Crystal Light Valve (LCLV) as an imaging material for large screen displays
was demonstrated by HRL in 1969. It has been applied to graphics projectors in commercial businesses and a large screen display
for military command and control.
Unique in its longevity, ion propulsion research at the Labs was active from 1961 until it was
transferred in its prototype stage over 30 years later. An ion propulsion engine was successfully launched on a satellite in
1997.
Just before the close of the century, on December 17, 1997, HRL was organized as a limited liability
company from the former Hughes Research Laboratories, Inc., and had its first patent issued in its own name on September 12,
2000.
