Nobel Prize in Physics shared by the US, Russia

The 2000 Physics Novel Prize recognizes the vital role of physics in the information technology revolution.

Half the prize will be awarded to Zhores I. Alferov of the Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute in St. Petersburg, Russia and Herbert Kroemer of the University of California at Santa Barbara for their early work in such areas as the design of heterostructures (sandwich structures made of numerous semiconductor layers, tailored to produce certain electronic effects, or to emit light), semiconductor lasers, epitaxial growth techniques (the ability to lay down very thin layers of atoms in a highly controlled manner), and optoelectronics (combining the information processing talents of both electrons and photons).

The other half of the prize will be awarded to Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments, one of the pioneers in producing integrated circuits. Tiny transistors replaced vacuum tubes as a means of performing the important tasks of switching and amplifying in electronic circuits. But it wasn't until many transistors and other elements could be wired up in a small space that today's information revolution could begin. Integration and miniaturization not only led to more efficient packaging but also to quicker processing since signals travel shorter paths. This growth of computer-based information processing and flow is epitomized by "Moore's law," named for Gordon Moore of Intel, according to which the density of devices squeezed onto a microchip should double (and for decades it has doubled) every 18-24 months.

Mr Alferov is the first Russian to win a Nobel Prize since Mikhail Gorbatchev was awarded the Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, in 1990.

More info on the winners can be found at:
http://www.nobel.se/announcement/2000/phyen.html

(Source: AIP)
http://www.aip.org/physnews/update/506-1.html

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