The effect of electroreflectence was first written of in a review letter from 1965 by B. O. Seraphin and R. B. Hess from Michelson Laboratory, China Lake, California where they were studying the Franz-Keldysh effect above the fundamental edge in germanium. They found that it was not only possible for the material to absorb the electrons, but also re-emit them. Following this discovery Seraphin has written numerous articles on the new found phenomenon.