home Botany Nobel Prize winner Zhores Alferov. Alferov Zhores: biography, personal life, photo. Awards and titles

Nobel Prize winner Zhores Alferov. Alferov Zhores: biography, personal life, photo. Awards and titles

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has published the names of scientists who were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. The prizes were awarded to Zh.I. Alferov (Russia) and G. Kremer (USA) for the development of semiconductor heterostructures for high-speed and optoelectronics. In the published brief curriculum vitae the laureates indicate the highest educational institution from which the laureate graduated. Thus, the whole world learned that the Nobel laureate Zhores Ivanovich Alferov graduated from the Leningrad Electrotechnical Institute named after V.I. Ulyanov (Lenin).

Zh.I. ALFEROV: STUDENT, PROFESSOR - NOBEL LAUREAT

On October 10, 2000, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences published the names of scientists who were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. The prizes were awarded to Zh.I. Alferov (Russia) and G. Kremer (USA) for the development of semiconductor heterostructures for high-speed and optoelectronics. In the published brief biographical information about the laureates, the higher educational institution from which the laureate graduated is indicated. Thus, the whole world learned that the Nobel laureate Zhores Ivanovich Alferov graduated from the Leningrad Electrotechnical Institute named after V.I. Ulyanov (Lenin).

Student Zhores Alferov studied at the Faculty of Electronic Engineering and graduated in 1952 with a diploma with honors. Years of study Zh.I. Alferov at LETI coincided with the beginning of the student construction movement. In 1949, as part of a student team, he participated in the construction of the Krasnoborskaya hydroelectric power station, one of the first rural power plants in the Leningrad Region.

Even in his student years, Zh.I. Alferov began his career in science. Under the guidance of Associate Professor of the Department of Fundamentals of Electrovacuum Technology Natalia Nikolaevna Sozina, he was engaged in research of semiconductor film photocells. His report at the institute conference of the student scientific society (SSS) in 1952 was recognized as the best, and for him he received the first scientific award in his life - a trip to the construction Volga-Don Canal. For several years he was the chairman of the SSS of the Faculty of Electronic Engineering.

After graduating from LETI Zh.I. Alferov was sent to work at the Leningrad Institute of Physics and Technology and began working in the laboratory of V.M. Tuchkevich. Here, with the participation of Zh.I. Alferov developed the first Soviet transistors.

In the early 60s, Zh.I. Alferov began to study the problem of heterojunctions. Discovery of Zh.I. Alferov ideal heterojunctions and new physical phenomena- "overinjection", electronic and optical confinement in heterostructures - made it possible to radically improve the parameters of most known semiconductor devices and create fundamentally new ones, especially promising for use in optical and quantum electronics.

With his discoveries, Zh.I. Alferov laid the foundations of modern information technology, mainly through the development of fast transistors and lasers. Created on the basis of Zh.I. Alferov devices and devices literally produced scientific and social revolution. These are lasers that transmit information flows through the fiber optic networks of the Internet, these are the technologies that underlie mobile phones, devices decorating product labels, recording and playback of CD-disc information and much more.

Under the scientific guidance of Zh.I. Alferov, studies of solar cells based on heterostructures were carried out, which led to the creation of photoelectric converters of solar radiation into electrical energy, the efficiency of which approached the theoretical limit. They proved to be indispensable for energy supply. space stations, and is currently considered as one of the main alternative energy sources to replace the declining reserves of oil and gas.

Thanks to the fundamental works of Zh.I. Alferov, LEDs based on heterostructures were created. White light LEDs, due to their high reliability and efficiency, are considered as a new type of lighting source and will replace traditional incandescent lamps in the near future, which will be accompanied by huge energy savings.

Among the scientific areas that are actively developed by Zh.I. Alferov, refers to the development of lasers based on quantum dots. The use of arrays of such quantum dots makes it possible to reduce the power consumption of lasers, as well as to increase the stability of their characteristics with increasing temperature. The world's first quantum dot laser was created by a group of scientists working under the direction of Zh.I. Alferova. The characteristics of these devices are constantly improving, and today they surpass all types of semiconductor lasers in many respects.

Academician Zh.I. Alferov is well aware that science and education are inseparable. Therefore, it purposefully forms a system for training scientific personnel in the latest areas of science and technology, based on the broad involvement of learning process academic institutions and leading scientists of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

In 1973, Academician Zh.I. Alferov, using the ongoing close relationship with LETI, creates and heads the country's first basic department at the FTI named after P.I. A.F. Ioffe, whose teachers are famous scientists. The system of training scientific personnel at the base department gave excellent results. When the thirtieth anniversary of the department was celebrated in 2003, the following data were given. For 30 years, the department has produced about six hundred highly qualified specialists, the vast majority of whom began to work at the FTI. A.F. Ioffe. More than four hundred people defended candidate dissertations, more than thirty - doctoral, and N.N. Ledentsov, V.M. Ustinov and A.E. Zhukov became corresponding members of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The organization of the department of optoelectronics was the beginning of the activity of Zh.I. Alferov to create an integral educational structure. In 1987 he created a physics and technology lyceum, in 1988 he organized a physics and technology department at the St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University, of which he is the dean. In 2002, on the initiative of Zh.I. Alferov, by a decree of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Academic Physics and Technology University was established, which in 2006 received the status of a state institution of higher vocational education. The established educational and research structures were merged in 2009 and received the name St. Petersburg Academic University - Research and Educational Center for Nanotechnologies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The units included in it are located in beautiful buildings built thanks to the efforts of Zh.I. Alferova.

Academician Zh.I. Alferov is doing everything in his power to maintain the international authority of Russian science. At his suggestion, the president Russian Federation By his decree, he established the international Global Energy Prize, which is awarded annually to three Russian and foreign scientists who have made an outstanding contribution to the development of energy.

On the initiative and under the chairmanship of Zh.I. Alferov held St. Petersburg scientific forum"Science and Society". Within the framework of this forum, the first meeting Nobel laureates"Science and Human Progress" was held in the year of the tercentenary of St. Petersburg. It was attended by 20 Nobel laureates in physics, chemistry, physiology and medicine, economics. Since 2008, meetings of Nobel laureates have become annual. Forum 2008 was dedicated to nanotechnologies. Forum 2009 The theme of the forum was information technology. The theme of the 2010 forum is economics and sociology in the 21st century.

Academician Zh.I. Alferov is the largest Soviet Russian scientist, the author of more than 500 scientific papers, more than 50 inventions. His works have received worldwide recognition and have been included in textbooks. Proceedings of Zh.I. Alferov were awarded the Nobel Prize, the Lenin and State Prizes of the USSR and Russia, the Prize to them. A.P. Karpinsky (Germany), the Demidov Prize, the Prize. A.F. Ioffe and the gold medal of A.S. Popov (RAS), the Hewlett-Packard Prize of the European Physical Society, the Stuart Ballantyne Medal of the Franklin Institute (USA), the Kyoto Prize (Japan), many orders and medals of the USSR, Russia and foreign countries.

Zhores Ivanovich was elected a life member of the B. Franklin Institute and a foreign member National Academy Sciences and the US National Academy of Engineering, a foreign member of the academies of sciences of Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Bulgaria and many other countries. He is an honorary citizen of St. Petersburg, Minsk, Vitebsk and other cities in Russia and abroad. Academic councils of many universities in Russia, Japan, China, Sweden, Finland, France and other countries elected him an honorary doctor and professor.

All these awards and titles deservedly crowned the work of not only a researcher, but also an organizer of science. Fifteen years Zh.I. Alferov headed the renowned Physico-Technical Institute A.F. Ioffe RAN. For more than twenty years, Zhores Ivanovich has been the permanent chairman of the St. scientific center RAS, whose main task is to coordinate scientific activity all Petersburg academic institutions. Zh.I. Alferov - Vice-President of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Professor Bystrov Yu.A.

Zhores Alferov is a living legend of Russian science. A scientist whose discoveries became the basis for the creation of modern electronic devices. Our world is no longer imaginable without lasers, semiconductors, LEDs and fiber optic networks. All this became available to mankind thanks to the inventions of Zhores Alferov and the young scientists he brought up.

The merits of the Russian (in the past - Soviet) physicist are highly noted in all corners of the Earth and even in space. Asteroid (3884) Alferov bears the name of the laureate Nobel Prize, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences and honorary member of international scientific communities.

Childhood and youth

The childhood of the scientist fell on difficult years. The world has changed a lot since the youngest son was born in the family of communists Ivan Karpovich Alferov and Anna Vladimirovna Rosenblum. The parents named their eldest son Marx (he died in last days Korsun-Shevchenkovsky battle), and the youngest was named in honor of Jean Zhores, the leader of the French socialists.

Zhores Alferov's family: parents and brother

Born on March 15, 1930 in Vitebsk, the child managed to travel around the construction sites of Stalingrad, Novosibirsk, Barnaul and Syasstroy with his parents before the war. If the Alferov family had remained to live in Belarus, then world science I could have suffered a huge loss without knowing about it. The nationality of Anna Rosenblum would have caused the death of both mother and son at the hands of the Nazis.

During World War II, the family lived in Sverdlovsk region, but the future scientist did not have a chance to study normally at school at that time. However, upon his return to Minsk, Zhores quickly made up for lost time. Finished school with a gold medal. Now this school is called Gymnasium No. 42 and bears the name of a famous student.

Physics teacher Yakov Borisovich Meltserzon noticed the young man's abilities and recommended him to enter the energy department of the Belarusian Polytechnic University. Deciding on a circle scientific interests, Alferov transferred to LETI. In 1952 he began his scientific career.

The science

The graduate dreamed of working at the Phystech under the guidance of Abram Fedorovich Ioffe. The Physico-Technical Institute was a legend in the post-war period. It was jokingly called "Joffe's kindergarten" - it was there that young people grew up, and. There, Zhores Ivanovich became part of the team that created the first Soviet transistors.

Transistors became the topic for the Ph.D. thesis of a young scientist. Subsequently, Zhores Ivanovich switched to the study of heterostructures (artificial crystals) and the movement of light and other types of radiation in them. In his laboratory, they worked with lasers, already in 1970 they created the world's first solar batteries there. They were equipped with satellites, they supplied electricity to the Mir orbital station.

Applied science classes went in parallel with teaching work. Zhores Ivanovich wrote books and articles. He headed the department of optoelectronics and personally selected students. Schoolchildren keen on physics attended his annual lecture courses "Physics and Life".

Now at the Academic University, whose permanent rector is Zhores Alferov, there is a lyceum "Physico-Technical School". The lyceum is the lower level of a scientific and educational institution, which also includes a powerful research center. Academician sees the future in lyceum students Russian science.

“The future of Russia is science and technology, not the sale of raw materials. And the future of the country is not with the oligarchs, but with one of my students.”

This quote from a public speech by Zhores Ivanovich reveals the scientist's belief in the victory of an inquisitive mind over the desire for enrichment.

Personal life

Perhaps the first scientific successes of the scientist contributed to the failure in his personal life. The first marriage of Zhores Ivanovich broke up with a scandal. The beautiful wife, with the help of influential Georgian relatives, sued her husband's Leningrad apartment during the divorce. Only a motorcycle and a folding bed remained in Alferov’s property, on which he spent the night in the laboratory. The rupture of relations led to the complete loss of the father-daughter relationship.

The second scientist married only in 1967, and this marriage has stood the test of time. Together with Tamara Darskaya, Zhores raised her daughter Irina and their common son Ivan. The birth of a son coincided with another event in his biography - receiving the Lenin Prize. The children have grown up a long time ago, Zhores Ivanovich managed to become a grandfather. He has two grandsons and a granddaughter.

Last years

The authority of a scientist in world science is based on more than 500 scientific works and almost a hundred inventions. But the activity of the Nobel laureate was not limited to physics. In the summer of 2017, within the walls of Samara University, the academician gave an open lecture on the topic: “Albert Einstein, socialism and modern world”, where he revealed the issues of interaction between scientists and rulers.

In his speeches, the scientist called the state of science in Russia horrendous and defended the rights of the Russian Academy of Sciences to self-government and decent funding. The scientist believed that the state should provide citizens with free healthcare, education and housing, otherwise this structure is useless.

Zhores Ivanovich was directly involved in government. Back in 1989, he was elected People's Deputy of the USSR from the Academy of Sciences. Since then, the academician has been constantly elected to the Russian Duma, actively defending the interests of scientists and ordinary citizens.

In August 2017, Forbes magazine included Zhores Alferov in the top 100 most influential Russians of the last century. Despite his considerable age, the Nobel laureate looked cheerful and self-confident in videos and photos.

Death

March 2, 2019 Zhores Alferov at the age of 88. As the head physician of the hospital told reporters Russian Academy Sci. Oleg Chagunava, the cause of death of the Nobel laureate was acute cardiopulmonary failure. On the eve of Alferov, he was observed by doctors for several months complaining of hypertension.

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation took over the organization of the funeral of the famous physicist.

Awards and achievements

1959 - Order of the Badge of Honor
1971 - Stuart Ballantyne Medal (USA)
1972 - Lenin Prize
1975 - Order of the Red Banner of Labor
1978 - Hewlett-Packard Prize (European Physical Society)
1980 - Order of the October Revolution
1984 - USSR State Prize
1986 - Order of Lenin
1987 - Golden medal Heinrich Welker (GaAs Symposium)
1989 - Karpinsky Prize (Germany)
1993 - XLIX Mendeleev reader
1996 - A. F. Ioffe Prize (RAS)
1998 - Honorary Doctor of St. Petersburg State Unitary Enterprise
1999 - Order of Merit for the Fatherland, III degree
1999 - Demidov Prize (Scientific Demidov Foundation)
1999 - A. S. Popov Gold Medal (RAS)
2000 - Nobel Prize (Sweden)
2000 - Order of Merit for the Fatherland, II degree
2000 - Nick Holonyak Award (Optical Society of America)
2001 - Order of Francysk Skaryna (Belarus)
2001 - Kyoto Prize (Japan)
2001 - V. I. Vernadsky Prize (Ukraine)
2001 - Prize "Russian National Olympus". Title "Legend Man"
2002 - State Prize of the Russian Federation
2002 - SPIE Gold Medal
2002 - Golden Plate Award (USA)
2003 - Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 5th class (Ukraine)
2005 - Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 1st class
2005 - International Energy Prize "Global Energy"
2008 - Title and medal of Honorary Professor of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology
2009 - Order of Friendship of Peoples (Belarus)
2010 - Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree
2010 - Medal "For contribution to the development of nanoscience and nanotechnology" from UNESCO
2011 - Title "Honorary Doctor of the Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University"
2013 - International Prize Carl Boer
2015 - Order of Alexander Nevsky
2015 - Gold medal named after Nizami Ganjavi (Azerbaijan)
2015 - Title "Honorary Professor of MIET"

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has published the names of scientists who were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. The prizes were awarded to Zh.I. Alferov (Russia) and G. Kremer (USA) for the development of semiconductor heterostructures for high-speed and optoelectronics. In the published brief biographical information about the laureates, the higher educational institution from which the laureate graduated is indicated. Thus, the whole world learned that the Nobel laureate Zhores Ivanovich Alferov graduated from the Leningrad Electrotechnical Institute named after V.I. Ulyanov (Lenin).

Zh.I. ALFEROV: STUDENT, PROFESSOR - NOBEL LAUREAT

Even in his student years, Zh.I. Alferov began his career in science. Under the guidance of Associate Professor of the Department of Fundamentals of Electrovacuum Technology Natalia Nikolaevna Sozina, he was engaged in research of semiconductor film photocells. His report at the institute conference of the student scientific society (SSS) in 1952 was recognized as the best, and for it he received the first scientific award in his life - a trip to the construction of the Volga-Don Canal. For several years he was the chairman of the SSS of the Faculty of Electronic Engineering.

In the early 60s, Zh.I. Alferov began to study the problem of heterojunctions. Discovery of Zh.I. Alferov ideal heterojunctions and new physical phenomena - "overinjection", electronic and optical confinement in heterostructures - made it possible to radically improve the parameters of most known semiconductor devices and create fundamentally new ones, especially promising for applications in optical and quantum electronics.

With his discoveries, Zh.I. Alferov laid the foundations of modern information technology, mainly through the development of fast transistors and lasers. Created on the basis of Zh.I. Alferov devices and devices literally made a scientific and social revolution. These are lasers transmitting information flows via fiber optic networks of the Internet, these are the technologies underlying mobile phones, devices decorating product labels, recording and playing information from CDs, and much more.

Under the scientific guidance of Zh.I. Alferov, studies of solar cells based on heterostructures were carried out, which led to the creation of photoelectric converters of solar radiation into electrical energy, the efficiency of which approached the theoretical limit. They turned out to be indispensable for the energy supply of space stations, and are currently considered as one of the main alternative energy sources to replace the declining reserves of oil and gas.

Academician Zh.I. Alferov is well aware that science and education are inseparable. Therefore, it purposefully forms a system for training scientific personnel in the latest areas of science and technology, based on the broad involvement of academic institutions and leading scientists of the Russian Academy of Sciences in the educational process.

The organization of the department of optoelectronics was the beginning of the activity of Zh.I. Alferov to create an integral educational structure. In 1987 he created a physics and technology lyceum, in 1988 he organized a physics and technology department at the St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University, of which he is the dean. In 2002, on the initiative of Zh.I. Alferov, by a decree of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Academic Physics and Technology University was established, which in 2006 received the status of a state institution of higher professional education. The established educational and research structures were merged in 2009 and received the name St. Petersburg Academic University - Research and Educational Center for Nanotechnologies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The units included in it are located in beautiful buildings built thanks to the efforts of Zh.I. Alferova.

Academician Zh.I. Alferov is doing everything in his power to maintain the international authority of Russian science. At his suggestion, the President of the Russian Federation by his decree established the international Global Energy Prize, which is awarded annually to three Russian and foreign scientists who have made an outstanding contribution to the development of energy.

On the initiative and under the chairmanship of Zh.I. Alferov, the St. Petersburg Scientific Forum "Science and Society" is held. Within the framework of this forum, the first meeting of Nobel laureates "Science and the progress of mankind" took place in the year of the tercentenary of St. Petersburg. It was attended by 20 Nobel laureates in physics, chemistry, physiology and medicine, economics. Since 2008, meetings of Nobel laureates have become annual. Forum 2008 was dedicated to nanotechnologies. Forum 2009 The theme of the forum was information technology. The theme of the 2010 forum is economics and sociology in the 21st century.

Zhores Ivanovich was elected a life member of the B. Franklin Institute and a foreign member of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering of the USA, a foreign member of the academies of sciences of Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Bulgaria and many other countries. He is an honorary citizen of St. Petersburg, Minsk, Vitebsk and other cities in Russia and abroad. Academic councils of many universities in Russia, Japan, China, Sweden, Finland, France and other countries elected him an honorary doctor and professor.

All these awards and titles deservedly crowned the work of not only a researcher, but also an organizer of science. Fifteen years Zh.I. Alferov headed the renowned Physico-Technical Institute A.F. Ioffe RAN. For more than twenty years, Zhores Ivanovich has been the permanent chairman of the St. Petersburg Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, whose main task is to coordinate the scientific activities of all St. Petersburg academic institutions. Zh.I. Alferov - Vice-President of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Professor Bystrov Yu.A.

Until this day, Russian scientists have owned eight Nobel Prizes, the same number, for example, as the Danes (Nikolai Semyonov - Prize in Chemistry for 1956; Ilya Frank, Igor Tamm, Pavel Cherenkov - Prize in Physics for 1958; Lev Landau - 1962; Alexander Prokhorov, Nikolai Basov - 1964; Pyotr Kapitsa - 1978). And now - the success of Alferov.

True, even here it was not so much without a fly in the ointment, but not without a small psychological splinter: Zhores Ivanovich, paired with Herbert Kroemer, will share the prize of $ 1 million in half with Jack Kilby. By decision of the Nobel Committee, Alferov and Kilby were awarded the Nobel Prize (one for two) for "work on obtaining semiconductor structures that can be used for ultrafast computers." (It is curious that the Nobel Prize in Physics for 1958 also had to be divided between the Soviet physicists Pavel Cherenkov and Ilya Frank, and for 1964 between, again, the Soviet physicists Alexander Prokhorov and Nikolai Basov.) Another American, an employee of the corporation " Texas Instruments, Jack Kilby, awarded for his work in the field of integrated circuits.

So, who is he, the new Russian Nobel laureate?

Zhores Ivanovich Alferov was born in the Belarusian city of Vitebsk. After 1935 the family moved to the Urals. In the city of Turinsk, A. went to school from the fifth to the eighth grades. On May 9, 1945, his father, Ivan Karpovich Alferov, was assigned to Minsk, where A. graduated from the men's high school No. 42 with a gold medal. He became a student of the Faculty of Electronic Engineering (FET) of the Leningrad Electrotechnical Institute (LETI) named after. IN AND. Ulyanov on the advice of the school teacher of physics, Yakov Borisovich Meltserzon.

In his third year, A. went to work in the vacuum laboratory of Professor B.P. Kozyrev. There he began experimental work under the direction of Natalia Nikolaevna Sozina. From his student years, A. attracted other students to participate in scientific research. So, in 1950, semiconductors became the main business of his life.

In 1953, after graduating from LETI, A. was hired by the Physico-Technical Institute. A.F. Ioffe to the laboratory of V.M. Tuchkevich. In the first half of the 1950s, the institute was given the task of creating domestic semiconductor devices for implementation in the domestic industry. The laboratory was faced with the task of obtaining single crystals of pure germanium and creating planar diodes and triodes on its basis. With the participation of A. developed the first domestic transistors and germanium power devices. For the complex of work carried out in 1959, A. received the first government award, he defended his Ph.D. thesis, summing up the ten-year work.

After that, before Zh.I. Alferov raised the question of choosing a further direction of research. The accumulated experience allowed him to move on to developing his own theme. In those years, the idea of using heterojunctions in semiconductor technology was put forward. The creation of perfect structures based on them could lead to a qualitative leap in physics and technology.

At that time, in many journal publications and at various scientific conferences, it was repeatedly said that there were no prospects for carrying out work in this direction, since. numerous attempts to implement devices based on heterojunctions did not lead to practical results. The reason for the failures lay in the difficulty of creating a transition close to ideal, identifying and obtaining the necessary heteropairs.

Best of the day

But this did not stop Zhores Ivanovich. He based his technological research on epitaxial methods, which make it possible to control such fundamental parameters of a semiconductor as the band gap, electron affinity, effective mass of current carriers, refractive index, etc. within a single single crystal.

GaAs and AlAs were suitable for an ideal heterojunction, but the latter oxidized almost instantly in air. So, it was necessary to choose another partner. And he was found right there, at the institute, in the laboratory headed by N.A. Goryunova. It turned out to be a ternary AIGaAs compound. This is how the GaAs/AIGaAs heteropair, now widely known in the world of microelectronics, was determined. Zh.I. Alferov and his collaborators not only created heterostructures in the AlAs-GaAs system that are close in their properties to an ideal model, but also the world's first semiconductor heterolaser operating in a continuous mode at room temperature.

Discovery of Zh.I. Alferov ideal heterojunctions and new physical phenomena - "superinjection", electronic and optical confinement in heterostructures - also made it possible to radically improve the parameters of most known semiconductor devices and create fundamentally new ones, especially promising for use in optical and quantum electronics. Zhores Ivanovich summarized the new stage of research on heterojunctions in semiconductors in his doctoral dissertation, which he successfully defended in 1970.

The works of Zh.I. Alferov were deservedly appreciated by the international and domestic science. In 1971, the Franklin Institute (USA) awarded him the prestigious Ballantyne Medal, called the "small Nobel Prize" and established to reward the best work in the field of physics. This is followed by the highest award of the USSR - the Lenin Prize (1972).

Using the developed by Zh.I. Alferov in the 70s of the technology of highly efficient, radiation-resistant solar cells based on AIGaAs / GaAs heterostructures in Russia (for the first time in the world) organized a large-scale production of heterostructural solar cells for space batteries. One of them, installed in 1986 on the Mir space station, worked in orbit for the entire period of operation without a significant decrease in power.

On the basis of those proposed in 1970 by Zh.I. Alferov and his collaborators of ideal transitions in multicomponent InGaAsP compounds have created semiconductor lasers operating in a much wider spectral region than lasers in the AIGaAs system. They have found wide application as radiation sources in long-distance fiber-optic communication lines.

In the early 90s, one of the main areas of work carried out under the leadership of Zh.I. Alferov, is getting and studying the properties of low-dimensional nanostructures: quantum wires and quantum dots.

In 1993...1994, for the first time in the world, heterolasers based on structures with quantum dots - "artificial atoms" were realized. In 1995 Zh.I. Alferov and his collaborators demonstrate for the first time an injection quantum dot heterolaser operating in a continuous mode at room temperature. It has become fundamentally important to expand the spectral range of lasers using quantum dots on GaAs substrates. Thus, the studies of Zh.I. Alferov laid the foundations for a fundamentally new electronics based on heterostructures with a very wide range of applications, known today as “zone engineering”.

The award has found a hero

In one of his numerous interviews (1984) to a correspondent's question: “According to rumors, you have now been nominated for the Nobel Prize. Isn't it a shame that you didn't get it? Zhores Ivanovich replied: “I heard that they had been introduced more than once. Practice shows that either it is given to a rhinestone after opening (in my case, this is the mid-70s), or already in old age. So it was with P.L. Kapitsa. So, I still have everything ahead of me.”

Here Zhores Ivanovich made a mistake. As they say, the award found the hero before the onset of old age. On October 10, 2000, all Russian television programs announced the award of Zh.I. Alferov Nobel Prize in Physics for 2000.

Modern Information Systems must meet two simple but fundamental requirements: be fast so that a large amount of information can be transferred in a short period of time, and compact to fit in the office, at home, in a briefcase or pocket.

With their discoveries, the 2000 Nobel Laureates in Physics created the basis for such modern technology. Zhores I. Alferov and Herbert Kremer discovered and developed fast opto- and microelectronic components, which are created on the basis of multilayer semiconductor heterostructures.

Heterolasers transmit and heteroreceivers receive information streams via fiber-optic communication lines. Heterolasers can also be found in CD players, label decoders, laser pointers, and many other devices.

Based on heterostructures, high-power, high-performance light-emitting diodes have been created that are used in displays, brake lights in cars, and traffic lights. In heterostructural solar batteries, which are widely used in space and ground energy, record-breaking efficiency of converting solar energy into electrical energy has been achieved.

Jack Kilby was awarded for his contribution to the discovery and development of integrated circuits, thanks to which microelectronics began to develop rapidly, which, along with optoelectronics, is the basis of all modern technology.

Teacher, educate a student...

In 1973, A., with the support of the rector of LETI A.A. Vavilov, organized the basic department of optoelectronics (EO) at the Faculty of Electronic Engineering of the Physico-Technical Institute. A.F. Ioffe.

In an incredibly short time Zh.I. Alferov is ashamed of B.P. Zakharchenei and other scientists of the Physicotechnical Institute developed academic plan training of engineers in the new department. It provided for the training of first- and second-year students within the walls of LETI, since the level of physical and mathematical training at FET was high and created a good foundation for studying special disciplines, which, starting from the third year, were taught by Phystech scientists on its territory. In the same place, using the latest technological and analytical equipment, laboratory workshops were carried out, as well as course and diploma projects under the guidance of teachers of the basic department.

Admission of students for the first year in the amount of 25 people was carried out through entry exams, and the recruitment of groups of the second and third courses for training at the Department of OE took place from students studying at the Faculty of Economics and at the Department of Dielectrics and Semiconductors of the Faculty of Electrophysics. The commission for the selection of students was headed by Zhores Ivanovich. Of the approximately 250 students enrolled in each course, 25 of the best were selected. On September 15, 1973, classes began for students of the second and third courses. For this, an excellent teaching staff was selected.

Zh.I. Alferov paid and continues to pay great attention to the formation of a contingent of first-year students. On his initiative, in the first years of the department's work during the spring school holidays annual schools "Physics and Life" were held. Its listeners were students of the graduating classes of schools in Leningrad. On the recommendation of teachers of physics and mathematics, the most gifted students were invited to take part in the work of this school. Thus, a group of 30 ... 40 people was recruited. They were housed in the institute's pioneer camp "Star". All expenses related to accommodation, meals and services for schoolchildren were covered by our university.

All of its lecturers, led by Zh.I. Alferov. Everything was solemn and very homely. Zhores Ivanovich gave the first lecture. He spoke so fascinatingly about physics, electronics, heterostructures that everyone listened to him as if spellbound. But even after the lecture, communication between Zh.I. Alferova with the guys. Surrounded by them, he walked around the camp, played snowballs, fooled around. How informally he treated this "event" is evidenced by the fact that on these trips Zhores Ivanovich took his wife Tamara Georgievna and son Vanya ...

The results of the work of the school were not slow to tell. In 1977, the first graduation of engineers in the department of OE took place, the number of graduates who received honors degrees at the faculty doubled. One group of students of this department gave as many "red" diplomas as the other seven groups.

In 1988, Zh.I. Alferov organized the Faculty of Physics and Technology at the Polytechnic Institute.

The next logical step was to combine these structures under one roof. To implement this idea Zh.I. Alferov started in the early 90s. At the same time, he did not just build the building of the Scientific and Educational Center, he laid the foundation for the future revival of the country ... And on September 1, 1999, the building of the Scientific and Educational Center (REC) went into operation.

On that stands and will stand the Russian land ...

Alferov always remains himself. In communication with ministers and students, directors of enterprises and ordinary people he is equally equal. It does not adapt to the first, does not rise above the second, but always defends its point of view with conviction.

Zh.I. Alferov is always busy. His work schedule is scheduled a month in advance, and the weekly work cycle is as follows: Monday morning - Phystech (he is its director), the afternoon - St. Petersburg Scientific Center (he is chairman); Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday - Moscow (he is a member of the State Duma and vice-president of the Russian Academy of Sciences, besides, numerous issues need to be resolved in the ministries) or St. Petersburg (also issues above their heads); Friday morning - Phystech, afternoon - Research and Education Center (Director). These are only major touches, and between them - scientific work, leadership of the Department of OE at ETU and the Faculty of Physics and Technology at TU, lecturing, participation in conferences. Do not count everything!

Our laureate is an excellent lecturer and storyteller. It is no coincidence that all the news agencies of the world noted Alferov's Nobel lecture, which he read at English language without outline and with its inherent brilliance.

When presenting the Nobel Prizes, there is a tradition when at the banquet, which is arranged by the King of Sweden in honor of the Nobel Laureates (at which there are over a thousand guests), only one laureate from each "nomination" is given the floor. In 2000, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to three people: Zh.I. Alferov, Herbert Kremer and Jack Kilby. So the last two persuaded Zhores Ivanovich to speak at this banquet. And he fulfilled this request brilliantly, successfully beating our Russian habit of doing “one favorite thing” for three in his word.

In his book "Physics and Life" Zh.I. Alferov, in particular, writes: “Everything that has been created by mankind has been created thanks to science. And if our country is destined to be a great power, then it will not be thanks to nuclear weapons or Western investment, not thanks to faith in God or the President, but thanks to the work of its people, faith in knowledge, in science, thanks to the preservation and development of scientific potential and education.

As a ten-year-old boy, I read a wonderful book by Veniamin Kaverin "Two Captains". And all my subsequent life I followed the principle of its protagonist Sanya Grigoriev: "Fight and seek, find and not give up." True, it is very important to understand what you are doing.”

star batteries
Melnov Nikolay Petrovich 16.03.2008 01:36:21

I received information that the academician I respect is developing, along with solar batteries, also stellar ones, which will far surpass solar batteries in their efficiency. How plausible is this information and if so, where can I get acquainted with it? With great regards and respect to Zhores Ivanovich, Melnov Nikolai Petrovich! Do you have an official website where you can be interested in your work? Waiting for an answer! Goodbye! 16.03.08 Omsk.

Zhores Alferov. Photo: RIA Novosti / Igor Samoilov

Monday, November 14, in St. Petersburg Rector of St. Petersburg Academic University Zhores Alferov. His condition does not cause concern among doctors.

Zhores Alferov is a Russian Nobel Prize winner in physics. He received the award in 2000 for the development of semiconductor heterostructures and the creation of fast opto- and microelectronic components.

AiF.ru gives a biography of Zhores Alferov.

Dossier

In December 1952 he graduated from the Leningrad State Electrotechnical Institute. IN AND. Ulyanov (Lenin).

Years of study Zh.I. Alferov at LETI coincided with the beginning of the student construction movement. In 1949, as part of a student team, he participated in the construction of the Krasnoborskaya hydroelectric power station, one of the first rural power plants in the Leningrad Region.

Even in his student years, Zh. I. Alferov began his path in science. Under the guidance of Associate Professor of the Department of Fundamentals of Electrovacuum Engineering Natalia Nikolaevna Sozina he was engaged in research of semiconductor film photocells. His report at the institute conference of the student scientific society (SSS) in 1952 was recognized as the best, for which the physicist received the first scientific award in his life: a trip to the construction of the Volga-Don Canal. For several years he was the chairman of the SSS of the Faculty of Electronic Engineering.

After graduating from LETI, Alferov was sent to work at the Leningrad Institute of Physics and Technology, where he began working in the laboratory V. M. Tuchkevich. Here, with the participation of Zh. I. Alferov, the first Soviet transistors were developed.

In January 1953 he entered the FTI. A. F. Ioffe, where he defended his candidate (1961) and doctoral (1970) dissertations.

In the early 1960s, Alferov began to study the problem of heterojunctions. His discovery of ideal heterojunctions and new physical phenomena - "superinjection", electronic and optical confinement in heterostructures - made it possible to radically improve the parameters of most known semiconductor devices and create fundamentally new ones, especially promising for applications in optical and quantum electronics.

Thanks to the research of Zh. I. Alferov, a new direction was actually created: heterojunctions in semiconductors.

With his discoveries, the scientist laid the foundations of modern information technology, mainly through the development of fast transistors and lasers. The devices and devices created on the basis of Alferov's research literally made a scientific and social revolution. These are lasers that transmit information flows via fiber-optic networks of the Internet, these are the technologies underlying mobile phones, devices that decorate product labels, record and play information on CDs, and much more.

Under the scientific guidance of Alferov, studies of solar cells based on heterostructures were carried out, which led to the creation of photoelectric converters of solar radiation into electrical energy, the efficiency of which approached the theoretical limit. They turned out to be indispensable for the energy supply of space stations, and are currently considered as one of the main alternative energy sources to replace the declining reserves of oil and gas.

Thanks to the fundamental work of Alferov, LEDs based on heterostructures were created. Due to their high reliability and efficiency, white light LEDs are considered as a new type of lighting source and will replace traditional incandescent lamps in the near future, which will be accompanied by huge energy savings.

Since the early 1990s, Alferov has been studying the properties of low-dimensional nanostructures: quantum wires and quantum dots.

In 2003, Alferov left the post of head of the FTI. A. F. Ioffe and until 2006 served as chairman of the scientific council of the institute. However, Alferov retained influence on a number of scientific structures, among which: FTI im. A. F. Ioffe, STC "Center for Microelectronics and Submicron Heterostructures", Scientific and Educational Complex (NOC) of the Institute of Physics and Technology and the Physics and Technology Lyceum.

Since 1988 (since its foundation) - Dean of the Faculty of Physics and Technology of St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University.

In 1990-1991 - Vice-President of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Chairman of the Presidium of the Leningrad Scientific Center.

On October 10, 2000, it became known that Zhores Alferov won the Nobel Prize in Physics for the development of semiconductor heterostructures for high-speed and optoelectronics. He shared the prize itself with two other physicists: Herbert Kroemer and Jack Kilby.

Since 2003 - Chairman of the Scientific and Educational Complex "St. Petersburg Physical and Technical Scientific and Educational Center" of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (1979), then of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Honorary Academician of the Russian Academy of Education. Vice President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Chairman of the Presidium of the St. Petersburg Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

He was the initiator of the establishment in 2002 of the Global Energy Prize, until 2006 he headed the International Committee for its award.

On April 5, 2010, it was announced that Alferov was appointed scientific director of the innovation center in Skolkovo.

Since 2010, he has been co-chairman of the Advisory Scientific Council of the Skolkovo Foundation.

In 2013, he ran for the presidency of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Having received 345 votes, he took second place.

Author of more than 500 scientific papers, including 4 monographs, more than 50 inventions. Among his students there are more than forty candidates and ten doctors of sciences. Most famous representatives schools: Corresponding Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences D. Z. Garbuzov and N. N. Ledentsov, Doctors of Physics and Mathematics. Sciences: V. M. Andreev, V. I. Korolkov, S. G. Konnikov, S. A. Gurevich, Yu. V. Zhilyaev, P. S. Kopiev, etc.

On the problems of modern science

Discussing the problems of modern Russian science with a correspondent of the Arguments and Facts newspaper, he noted: “The lag in science is not a consequence of any weakness of Russian scientists or a manifestation of a national trait, but the result of a stupid reform of the country.”

After the reform of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which began in 2013, Alferov repeatedly expressed a negative attitude towards this bill. The scientist's address to the President of the Russian Federation said:

“After the most severe reforms of the 1990s, having lost a lot, the RAS nevertheless retained its scientific potential much better than industry science and universities. Contrasting academic and university science is completely unnatural and can only be carried out by people pursuing their own very strange political goals, very far from the interests of the country. Law on the reorganization of the Russian Academy of Sciences and others state academies sciences does not solve the problem of increasing the efficiency scientific research».

Political and social activities

1944 - member of the Komsomol.

1965 - Member of the CPSU.

1989-1992 - People's Deputy of the USSR.

1995-1999 - Deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the 2nd convocation from the movement "Our Home is Russia" (NDR), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Science of the Committee on Science and Education of the State Duma, member of the NDR faction, since 1998 - member of the People's Power parliamentary group.

1999-2003 - Deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the 3rd convocation from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, member of the Communist Party faction, member of the Committee on Education and Science.

2003-2007 - Deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the 4th convocation from the Communist Party, member of the Communist Party faction, member of the Committee on Education and Science.

2007-2011 - Deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the 5th convocation from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, member of the Communist Party faction, member of the State Duma Committee on Science and High Technologies. The oldest deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the 5th convocation.

2012-2016 - Deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the 6th convocation from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, member of the State Duma Committee on Science and High Technologies.

Since 2016 - Deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the 7th convocation from the Communist Party. The oldest deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the 7th convocation.

Member of the editorial board of the radio newspaper Slovo.

Chairman of the Editorial Board of the Nanotechnologies. Ecology. Production".

Established the Foundation for the Support of Education and Science to help talented young students, to promote their professional growth, encouragement of creative activity in carrying out scientific research in priority areas of science. The first contribution to the Fund was made by Zhores Alferov from the funds of the Nobel Prize.

In 2016, he signed a letter calling on Greenpeace, the United Nations and governments around the world to stop fighting genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Awards and titles

The works of Zh. I. Alferov were awarded the Nobel Prize, the Lenin and State Prizes of the USSR and Russia, the Prize to them. A.P. Karpinsky (Germany), the Demidov Prize, the Prize. A. F. Ioffe and the gold medal of A. S. Popov (RAS), the Hewlett-Packard Prize of the European Physical Society, the Stuart Ballantine Medal of the Franklin Institute (USA), the Kyoto Prize (Japan), many orders and medals of the USSR, Russia and foreign countries .

Asteroid (No. 3884) Alferov, discovered March 13, 1977 N. S. Chernykh at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory was named after the scientist on February 22, 1997.