FEW physicists can say that their work has had a profound impact on the lives
of most people alive today. But three scientists whose pioneering work ushered
in the era of microelectronics and the ubiquitous silicon chip can make such a
claim, and they have won this year鈥檚 Nobel Prize in Physics for their
efforts.
Russian-born Zhores Alferov of the Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute in St
Petersburg, Russia, and Herbert Kroemer of the University of California at Santa
Barbara shared half of the 拢625,000 prize. They won their award for
developing fast microelectronic and optoelectronic components made of layered
semiconductors in the 1950s and 1960s.
In 1957, Kroemer showed theoretically that heterostructure
transistors鈥攎ade by laying down thin layers of semiconductors such as
gallium arsenide鈥攕hould be superior to conventional transistors built from
specially modified pieces of a single material such as silicon. Today,
heterotransistors and similar devices are used in satellite and mobile phone
communications and will probably play a key role in new technology for decades
to come.
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Kroemer and Alferov also independently invented and developed laser diodes
using semiconductor heterostructures. These were the key to making fibre-optic
communications a practical reality.
A few hours after hearing the news, Alferov hosted a jubilant, impromptu
press conference in his office. 鈥淭here is nothing higher than a Nobel prize in
the life of a scientist,鈥� he told reporters. He plans to use a chunk of his
winnings to bolster the dwindling funds for scientific research in Russia. 鈥淚
think my wife will help me with how to spend the other part,鈥� he said.
But it was Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments in Dallas who scooped the biggest
share of the prize money. In the late 1950s, the need for faster, smaller
electronics unencumbered by wiring inspired him to build the first
microchip鈥攁 composite block of electronic components the size of a match
head. Robert Noyce of Fairchild Semiconductor developed a chip at around the
same time, and fuelled much of its commercial success, but he died in 1990.
鈥淭hrough this invention, microelectronics has grown to become the basis of all
modern technology,鈥� the Nobel committee said.
Kilby became a freelance inventor in 1970 and has registered around 60
patents. He was one of the inventors of the pocket calculator, an early
application of the silicon chip.
George Scalise, president of the Semiconductor Industry Association which
represents American chip manufacturers, especially welcomes the award to Kilby,
crediting him as a key figure behind the modern industry boom. 鈥淭he growth and
success we are experiencing today is a direct result of our industry鈥檚
visionaries and leaders. Jack is one of them,鈥� he says.