A pioneer in semiconductor electronics for domestic power based on germanium transistors and power devices, and with over five hundred scientific papers to his credit, he was awarded the prize for research and practical contribution to creation of semi-conductor energy converters for use in solar and electrical energy applications.
Zhores Ivanovich Alferov was born on March 15, 1930 in Vitebsk, Belorussia. In 1952 he graduated from Leningrad V. I. Ulyanov Electrotechnical Institute.
Since 1987 he held the position of the Director of Institute. Zhores Alferov is a prominent scientist, the author of several fundamental and application works in the field of physics of semi-conductors and devices based on them. Alferov and his colleagues worked out the foundations of the domestic semi-conducting power electronics on the basis of transistors and power germanium devices. Alferov’s works are a great contribution to the development of electric power industry, their originality has been proved by numerous patents and publications. He is the author of more than 500 scientific works, 4 monographs, of more than 50 inventions; his works has become widely known and have acquired the world recognition; extracts from them have entered many course-books.
Alferov is the Academician, Vice-President of the RAS, the Nobel Prize laureate, Scientific Head of Ioffe Physical and Technical Institute, RAS, a Chairman of Saint-Petersburg Scientific Centre of the Academy.
Zhores Alferov was given the Nobel Prize in Physics of the year 2000. In 2005 he became a Laureate of Global Energy International Prize for fundamental researches and a considerable practical contribution to creation of semi-conductor energy converters used in solar and electrical energetic.
Bibliography
- Fundamental Research of Formation Processes and Properties of Heterostructures with Quantum Points and Designing of Lasers on Their Basis, 2001;
- Saint-Petersburg Science and Sea Power of Russia, 2002;
- Science and Society, 2005.
Scientific activities
- Author of fundamental and applied works in the field of semiconductor physics and semiconductor instruments.
- Developed the foundations of Russian power semiconductor electronics on the basis of transistors and germanium power instruments.
- Made a huge contribution to development of electric power engineering; his originality is confirmed with numerous patents and publications.
- Solved a problem of effective transformation of solar energy to electric energy using heterostructural photoconverters and solar cells.
- Solved a problem of space station power supply; presently this branch is successfully developing as one of the sources of ecologically clean renewable energy.