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The development of photodiodes and lasers: The contribution of Russian scientists

Issue 2 from 01.06.2006

In the history of the development of photodiodes and lasers during the 1950s and 1960s, Russian scientists, along with Americans, played the defining roles. The most prominent among the Russians included O. V. Losev, discoverer of injection luminescence conductors; N. A. Goriunova, who along with G. Vel’ker formulated the principles for creating new complex semiconductors for photodiodes and lasers; N. G. Basov, O. N. Krokhin, and Yu. M. Popov, who established basic equations in the theory of injection lasers; and Zh. I. Alferov and his collaborators, the builders of the first heterolaser. As a result of the conflict between the two superpowers and the effects of cold war ideology, historians of science and technology underestimated and downplayed the many achievements of Russian scientists. Similarly, a regime of secrecy operated in Russian enterprises, and as a result, the Russian priority in industrial production of photodiodes failed to receive general recognition.

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