Semiconductor research and the Nobel Prize in physics seem to be contradictory since one may come to the conclusion that such a complicated system like a semiconductor is not useful for very fundamental discoveries.

The publicity of the Nobel Prize has made clear that the research work connected with the Quantum Hall Effect was so successful because a tremendous large number of institutions and individuals supported this activity.

The discovery of the Quantized Hall Effect (QHE) was the result of systematic measurements on silicon field effect transistors - the most important device in microelectronics.

Klaus von Klitzing Quotes