Zhores Alferov

Zhores Alferov
Born	Zhores Ivanovich Alferov 15 3, 1930
Birthplace	Vitebsk, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union
Died	Template:Death date and age Saint Petersburg, Russia
Nationality	Soviet / Russian
Occupation	Physicist, politician
Employer	Ioffe Institute
Known for	Semiconductor heterostructures, development of heterojunction for optoelectronics
Education	Electrotechnical University "LETI"
Spouse(s)	Tamara Darskaya
Children	2
Awards	Nobel Prize in Physics (2000), Lenin Prize, USSR State Prize

Zhores Ivanovich Alferov (Template:Lang-ru; 15 March 1930 – 1 March 2019) was a Soviet and Russian physicist whose groundbreaking research into semiconductor heterostructures laid the foundation for many of the technologies that define modern life. His work on developing semiconductor heterojunctions for use in high-speed and optoelectronic components earned him a share of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics, alongside Herbert Kroemer and Jack Kilby. Born in the Byelorussian SSR, Alferov spent the bulk of his scientific career at the Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute in Saint Petersburg (then Leningrad), where he rose from a junior researcher to become the institute's director. His contributions underpinned the development of semiconductor lasers, solar cells, light-emitting diodes, and fiber-optic communications systems that became integral to the digital age. Beyond his scientific achievements, Alferov was a prominent public figure in Russia who served as a member of the State Duma and was active in science policy and education. He died on 1 March 2019 in Saint Petersburg, two weeks before his 89th birthday.

Early Life

Zhores Ivanovich Alferov was born on 15 March 1930 in Vitebsk, in the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union. He was named after the French socialist leader Jean Jaurès, reflecting the revolutionary ideals of his parents. His father, Ivan Karpovich Alferov, was a factory manager who had been active in the Russian Revolution and later held various industrial management positions. His older brother Marx was also named in keeping with socialist tradition, after Karl Marx.

Alferov's early years were shaped by the turbulent events engulfing the Soviet Union. When World War II broke out, his family was forced to evacuate from their home as Nazi Germany invaded the western Soviet Union. The family relocated eastward, and young Zhores spent the war years away from his birthplace. His brother Marx served in the Soviet armed forces during the war and was killed in combat, a loss that profoundly affected the family.

Despite the disruptions of the war, Alferov proved to be a capable student. After the war, the family settled in Minsk, the capital of the Byelorussian SSR, where Alferov completed his secondary schooling. He later recalled that a particular high school physics teacher played an important role in sparking his interest in the sciences. This teacher, Yakov Borisovich Meltserson, introduced Alferov to the excitement of physics and encouraged his aptitude for the subject. The influence of this formative experience set Alferov on a path toward what would become a decades-long career in semiconductor physics.

Education

Following his secondary education, Alferov enrolled at the V.I. Ulyanov (Lenin) Electrotechnical Institute (LETI) in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), where he studied electronics. He graduated from LETI in 1952, having received training in the rapidly developing field of semiconductor physics and electronic engineering. His studies at LETI provided him with a strong foundation in both the theoretical and practical aspects of electronics, which proved essential for his subsequent research career.

After completing his undergraduate education, Alferov joined the Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences in Leningrad, where he began his graduate research. He completed his doctoral thesis at the Ioffe Institute in 1970, with a focus on semiconductor heterostructures. The Ioffe Institute would remain the center of his professional life for more than six decades.

Career

Early Research at the Ioffe Institute

Alferov began working at the Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute in 1953, shortly after graduating from LETI. He joined the institute at a time when semiconductor research was gaining momentum worldwide, spurred by the invention of the transistor in the late 1940s. At Ioffe, Alferov initially worked in the laboratory led by Vladimir Tuchkevich, focusing on the physics of semiconductors and the development of semiconductor devices.

During the 1950s and early 1960s, Alferov contributed to work on germanium and silicon-based transistors and power rectifiers. He participated in the development of the first Soviet transistors and was involved in creating germanium-based power semiconductor devices for the Soviet electronics industry. These early experiences gave him practical knowledge of semiconductor materials and device fabrication that would prove invaluable in his later work on heterostructures.

Semiconductor Heterostructures

The research that would define Alferov's career and ultimately earn him the Nobel Prize began in the 1960s, when he turned his attention to semiconductor heterostructures — structures composed of layers of different semiconductor materials. The theoretical potential of heterostructures had been proposed by Herbert Kroemer in 1957 and by others, but the practical realization of these structures presented enormous technical challenges.

Alferov and his research team at the Ioffe Institute began systematic experimental work on III-V semiconductor heterostructures, particularly those based on gallium arsenide (GaAs) and aluminium arsenide (AlAs) and their alloys. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Alferov's group achieved a series of critical breakthroughs. They demonstrated the first practical semiconductor heterojunction laser that could operate in a continuous-wave mode at room temperature, a result published in 1970. This was a pivotal achievement in the history of laser technology, as previous semiconductor lasers required cryogenic cooling or could only operate in short pulses.

The key innovation was the creation of a "double heterostructure," in which a thin active semiconductor layer was sandwiched between two layers of a different semiconductor material with a wider bandgap. This configuration provided both efficient carrier confinement and optical waveguiding, dramatically reducing the threshold current needed for lasing. Alferov's group demonstrated that such structures could be fabricated using liquid-phase epitaxy techniques applied to GaAs-AlGaAs material systems.

In addition to the semiconductor laser, Alferov's work on heterostructures led to advances in several other areas. His team demonstrated high-efficiency heterostructure solar cells, light-emitting diodes, and high-electron-mobility transistors. The heterostructure solar cells developed by Alferov's group achieved conversion efficiencies that were significantly higher than those of conventional single-junction solar cells, a result with important implications for both terrestrial and space-based solar energy applications.

The research also contributed to the development of heterostructure bipolar transistors that operated at much higher speeds than conventional transistors, opening the way for faster electronic circuits. These various applications demonstrated the versatility and importance of the heterostructure concept that Alferov had helped to realize experimentally.

Impact on Technology

The practical implications of Alferov's work on semiconductor heterostructures became increasingly apparent as the technologies he helped pioneer were incorporated into commercial products and systems. The semiconductor laser, in particular, became a ubiquitous component of modern technology. Heterostructure lasers are used in fiber-optic communication systems that carry the vast majority of the world's telecommunications traffic, in compact disc and DVD players, in barcode readers, and in laser printers.

The Financial Times noted in its obituary that Alferov's research "underpins today's hyperconnected world," describing him as "the father of an advanced semiconductor" technology that made possible the information revolution. The technologies derived from heterostructure research also found applications in mobile phone handsets, satellite communications, and LED lighting.

Heterostructure solar cells developed through the line of research initiated by Alferov became central to the power systems used on spacecraft and satellites, where the higher efficiency of multi-junction cells justified their greater manufacturing cost. Over time, these cells also began to be used in terrestrial concentrated solar power systems.

Leadership at the Ioffe Institute

Alferov rose through the ranks at the Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute over the course of his career. He became the director of the institute in 1987, a position he held until 2003. Under his leadership, the Ioffe Institute maintained its standing as one of the premier physics research institutions in Russia, despite the severe economic difficulties that afflicted Russian science following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.

During the challenging 1990s, when funding for basic research in Russia plummeted and many scientists emigrated, Alferov worked to preserve the institutional infrastructure and research capabilities of the Ioffe Institute. He sought international collaborations and worked to maintain the institute's research programs in semiconductor physics and related fields.

Alferov also devoted significant effort to scientific education. He established the Academic Physics and Technology Lyceum at the Ioffe Institute, a specialized secondary school designed to identify and train gifted students in physics and mathematics. He later expanded this educational initiative by creating the Alferov University (formally the Saint Petersburg Academic University), a higher education institution affiliated with the Russian Academy of Sciences that focused on nanotechnology and information technology.

Notable Students

Over the course of his career, Alferov supervised numerous doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers who went on to make their own contributions to semiconductor physics. Among his notable students was Dmitri Garbuzov, who became a prominent figure in semiconductor laser research. Alferov's laboratory at the Ioffe Institute served as a training ground for generations of physicists specializing in heterostructure physics and optoelectronics.

Political Career

In addition to his scientific work, Alferov was active in Russian politics. He was elected to the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, where he served from 1996 until his death in 2019. He ran as a member of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, a political affiliation that reflected his belief in the importance of state support for science and education.

In the Duma, Alferov focused on issues related to science policy, research funding, and education. He was a vocal advocate for increased government investment in fundamental research and frequently criticized what he saw as the inadequate funding of Russian science. He argued that the decline in state support for scientific institutions threatened Russia's long-term economic competitiveness and technological development.

Alferov was also a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, having been elected a full academician. He served as vice-president of the Academy and was involved in efforts to defend the institution's autonomy and funding during periods of proposed governmental reform.

Personal Life

Zhores Alferov was married to Tamara Darskaya, and the couple had two children. He was named after Jean Jaurès, the French socialist leader who was assassinated in 1914, and his older brother was named Marx after Karl Marx. Alferov noted in his Nobel biographical essay that his father had been an active participant in revolutionary events and held positions in factory management throughout his career.

Alferov remained active in both science and politics until late in his life. He lived in Saint Petersburg, the city that had been the center of his professional life since his student days. He died on 1 March 2019 at the age of 88, following a period of illness. His death was widely reported in international media and prompted tributes from scientific organizations and institutions around the world. UNESCO issued a statement mourning his loss, noting his contributions to nanoscience and nanotechnology as well as his role in promoting science education.

Alferov's political views were shaped by his Soviet upbringing and his belief in the importance of state-supported science. He remained a member of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation throughout his political career and served in the State Duma until his death.

Recognition

Alferov's contributions to physics and technology earned him numerous honors and awards throughout his career. The most prominent was the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2000, which he shared with Herbert Kroemer "for developing semiconductor heterostructures used in high-speed- and opto-electronics" and with Jack Kilby "for his part in the invention of the integrated circuit." Alferov and Kroemer each received one-quarter of the prize, while Kilby received the other half. Alferov was the first Russian to receive the Nobel Prize in Physics since Pyotr Kapitsa in 1978.

In addition to the Nobel Prize, Alferov received numerous Soviet and Russian honors. He was awarded the Lenin Prize (1972) for his work on heterostructures and the USSR State Prize (1984). He was also the recipient of the Kyoto Prize in Advanced Technology in 2001, one of Japan's most prestigious awards for contributions to science and technology.

Alferov was elected to numerous scientific academies and societies worldwide. He was a foreign member of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, the National Academy of Engineering, and various European academies of sciences. He received honorary doctorates from universities in multiple countries.

In 2001, UNESCO established a prize in nanoscience and nanotechnology that bore Alferov's involvement, reflecting his role in advancing these fields. The Russian Academy of Sciences also established awards and named programs in his honor to recognize contributions to semiconductor physics.

Legacy

Zhores Alferov's scientific legacy rests primarily on his pioneering experimental work on semiconductor heterostructures, which transformed theoretical proposals into practical technologies with enormous economic and social impact. The heterostructure-based semiconductor laser, which his group demonstrated in a continuous-wave room-temperature mode in 1970, became one of the foundational components of modern telecommunications, data storage, and information technology.

Nature Photonics, in its remembrance, described Alferov as the "father of the semiconductor laser" and noted that his work at the Ioffe Institute created an enduring research tradition in heterostructure physics and optoelectronics. The technologies that grew out of his research — fiber-optic communications, high-efficiency solar cells, LEDs, and high-speed transistors — became integral to the infrastructure of the modern world.

Alferov's legacy also extends to his role as an institution builder and educator. The research school he established at the Ioffe Institute trained multiple generations of physicists who continued to advance the field of semiconductor science. The educational institutions he founded, including the Academic Physics and Technology Lyceum and the Saint Petersburg Academic University, represented his commitment to nurturing scientific talent in Russia during a period when many young scientists were choosing careers abroad.

His political career, while secondary to his scientific work, reflected his belief that science and education required robust state support. Alferov used his public platform in the State Duma to advocate for research funding and to argue that technological innovation depended on sustained investment in fundamental science.

The Financial Times summarized his significance by observing that his research "underpins today's hyperconnected world," a characterization that captured the breadth of the technologies that flowed from his contributions to heterostructure physics. At the time of his death, tributes from scientific institutions and governments underscored the lasting importance of his work to both physics and technology.