# Bell Telephone Laboratories Inc — Patents explained on PatentBrief

Bell Telephone Laboratories Inc has 5 landmark patents explained in plain English on PatentBrief.

- [The Invention of the Modern Field-Effect Transistor](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/3102230/mosfet-field-effect-transistor) — granted 1963
  This 1960 patent describes the fundamental structure of the MOSFET, the tiny electronic switch that powers every modern computer processor.
- [How the First Laser Was Invented](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/2929922/laser-maser) — granted 1960
  The foundational 1960 patent by Schawlow and Townes that describes how to amplify light waves to create a laser, moving beyond microwave technology.
- [How the First Practical Silicon Solar Cell Works](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/2780765/solar-cell-photovoltaic) — granted 1957
  A 1954 invention by Bell Labs researchers that created the first silicon-based solar cell capable of converting sunlight into enough electricity to power everyday devices.
- [The Invention of the Junction Transistor](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/2569347/junction-transistor) — granted 1951
  William Shockley's 1951 patent for the junction transistor, the fundamental building block of all modern digital electronics.
- [The Invention of the Transistor](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/2524035/point-contact-transistor) — granted 1950
  Bell Labs' 1950 patent for the point-contact transistor, the fundamental electronic component that makes all modern computing possible.

**Full profile:** https://patentbrief.org/company/bell-telephone-laboratories-inc

---

_Source: PatentBrief — https://patentbrief.org. Plain-English explanations of US patents._