Phaedon Avouris
Encyclopedia
Phaedon Avouris is a Greek
American
chemical physicist
. He is an IBM Fellow and the group leader for Nanometer Scale Science and Technology
at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center
in Yorktown Heights, New York
.
, Greece, and his Ph.D. degree in Physical Chemistry at Michigan State University
in 1974. He did postdoctoral work at UCLA, and was a Research Fellow at AT&T Bell Laboratories before joining the staff of IBM’s Research Division at the Watson Research Center in 1978. In 1984, he became manager of Chemical Physics, and in 2004, he was elected an IBM Fellow. He is currently Manager of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. He has also been an adjunct professor at Columbia University
and the University of Illinois.
Over the years, his research has involved a wide variety of subjects in such areas as laser spectroscopy, surface physics and chemistry, scanning tunneling microscopy, atom manipulation, and nanoelectronics. His current research is focused on experimental and theoretical studies of the electrical, optical, and optoelectronic properties of carbon nanotubes and graphene. The work includes the design, fabrication, and study of nanoelectronic and optoelectronic devices and circuits. He has published over 360 scientific papers on these subjects.
to study surface chemistry on the atomic scale, and establish the relation between chemical reactivity and local electronic structure. He demonstrated device-like behavior on the atomic scale, observed electron confinement and interference effects at surfaces. He also manipulated covalently bonded atoms with atomic precision. More recently, Avouris has made critical discoveries, both experimental and theoretical, on the electronics and photonics
of carbon nanotubes (CNT) and graphene, and has laid the foundations of future carbon-based nanotechnology.
In 1998 Avouris’ team at IBM independently demonstrated the very first molecular transistor based on a single CNT. Subsequently, he optimized the design and performance of the CNT field-effect transistors, enabling them to outperform silicon devices. Avouris and co-workers then produced the first CNT logic-gates and integrated circuits based on CNTs. They showed that transport in CNTs is controlled by Schottky barriers, found ways to dope CNTs, and analyzed the role of inelastic phonon scattering. Avouris and his group demonstrated, for the first time, electrically generated light emission and photoconductivity
from CNTs, and analyzed theoretically the properties of CNT excitons. He studied in detail the mechanisms of photo- and current-induced excitation of these one-dimensional systems and opened up the possibility of a unified electronic and optoelectronic technology based on the same carbon materials.
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
American
People of the United States
The people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
chemical physicist
Chemical physics
Chemical physics is a subdiscipline of chemistry and physics that investigates physicochemical phenomena using techniques from atomic and molecular physics and condensed matter physics; it is the branch of physics that studies chemical processes from the point of view of physics...
. He is an IBM Fellow and the group leader for Nanometer Scale Science and Technology
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...
at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center
Thomas J. Watson Research Center
The Thomas J. Watson Research Center is the headquarters for the IBM Research Division.The center is on three sites, with the main laboratory in Yorktown Heights, New York, 38 miles north of New York City, a building in Hawthorne, New York, and offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts.- Overview :The...
in Yorktown Heights, New York
Yorktown Heights, New York
Yorktown Heights is a census-designated place in the town of Yorktown in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 1,781 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Yorktown Heights is located at ....
.
Education and Research Interests
Avouris received his B.Sc. degree at the Aristotle University of ThessalonikiAristotle University of Thessaloniki
The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki is the largest Greek university, and the largest university in the Balkans. It was named after the philosopher Aristotle, who was born in Stageira, Chalcidice, about 55 km east of Thessaloniki, in Central Macedonia...
, Greece, and his Ph.D. degree in Physical Chemistry at Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
in 1974. He did postdoctoral work at UCLA, and was a Research Fellow at AT&T Bell Laboratories before joining the staff of IBM’s Research Division at the Watson Research Center in 1978. In 1984, he became manager of Chemical Physics, and in 2004, he was elected an IBM Fellow. He is currently Manager of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. He has also been an adjunct professor at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and the University of Illinois.
Over the years, his research has involved a wide variety of subjects in such areas as laser spectroscopy, surface physics and chemistry, scanning tunneling microscopy, atom manipulation, and nanoelectronics. His current research is focused on experimental and theoretical studies of the electrical, optical, and optoelectronic properties of carbon nanotubes and graphene. The work includes the design, fabrication, and study of nanoelectronic and optoelectronic devices and circuits. He has published over 360 scientific papers on these subjects.
Research Activities
Avouris has been a trailblazer in the nanoscience and nanotechnology field. He pioneered the use of scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopySpectroscopy
Spectroscopy is the study of the interaction between matter and radiated energy. Historically, spectroscopy originated through the study of visible light dispersed according to its wavelength, e.g., by a prism. Later the concept was expanded greatly to comprise any interaction with radiative...
to study surface chemistry on the atomic scale, and establish the relation between chemical reactivity and local electronic structure. He demonstrated device-like behavior on the atomic scale, observed electron confinement and interference effects at surfaces. He also manipulated covalently bonded atoms with atomic precision. More recently, Avouris has made critical discoveries, both experimental and theoretical, on the electronics and photonics
Photonics
The science of photonics includes the generation, emission, transmission, modulation, signal processing, switching, amplification, detection and sensing of light. The term photonics thereby emphasizes that photons are neither particles nor waves — they are different in that they have both particle...
of carbon nanotubes (CNT) and graphene, and has laid the foundations of future carbon-based nanotechnology.
In 1998 Avouris’ team at IBM independently demonstrated the very first molecular transistor based on a single CNT. Subsequently, he optimized the design and performance of the CNT field-effect transistors, enabling them to outperform silicon devices. Avouris and co-workers then produced the first CNT logic-gates and integrated circuits based on CNTs. They showed that transport in CNTs is controlled by Schottky barriers, found ways to dope CNTs, and analyzed the role of inelastic phonon scattering. Avouris and his group demonstrated, for the first time, electrically generated light emission and photoconductivity
Photoconductivity
Photoconductivity is an optical and electrical phenomenon in which a material becomes more electrically conductive due to the absorption of electromagnetic radiation such as visible light, ultraviolet light, infrared light, or gamma radiation....
from CNTs, and analyzed theoretically the properties of CNT excitons. He studied in detail the mechanisms of photo- and current-induced excitation of these one-dimensional systems and opened up the possibility of a unified electronic and optoelectronic technology based on the same carbon materials.
Awards and honors
- Fellow of the American Physical SocietyAmerican Physical SocietyThe American Physical Society is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The Society publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the world renowned Physical Review and Physical Review Letters, and organizes more than 20...
(1987) - Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of ScienceAmerican Association for the Advancement of ScienceThe American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
(1996) - Fellow of the American Vacuum SocietyAmerican Vacuum SocietyAVS: Science and Technology of Materials, Interfaces, and Processing is a not-for-profit learned society founded in 1953. AVS is a member society of the American Institute of Physics. AVS has approximately 5000 members worldwide from academia, governmental laboratories and industry...
(1997) - Medard W. Welch AwardMedard W. Welch AwardThe award is given to scientists who demonstrated outstanding research in the fields pertinent to American Vacuum Society. It was established in 1969 in memory of Memory of Medard W. Welch, a founder of American Vacuum Society. The prestige of the award is created by its recipients and their...
of the American Vacuum Society (1997), - Fellow of the New York Academy of SciencesNew York Academy of SciencesThe New York Academy of Sciences is the third oldest scientific society in the United States. An independent, non-profit organization with more than members in 140 countries, the Academy’s mission is to advance understanding of science and technology...
(1999) - Fellow of the World Technology Network (1999)
- Feynman Prize in NanotechnologyForesight Nanotech Institute Feynman PrizeThe Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology is an award given by Foresight Nanotech Institute every year for significant advancements in nanotechnology. It is named in honor of physicist Richard Feynman, whose 1959 talk There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom is considered to have inspired the beginning of...
(Experimental) of the Foresight Nanotech Institute (1999)* Michigan State University’s Distinguished Alumnus Award (2001). - Nanoscience Prize at the International Conference on Atomically Controlled Surfaces, Interfaces and Nanostructures (ACSIN) (2001)
- Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesAmerican Academy of Arts and SciencesThe American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
(2003) - Irving Langmuir Prize for Chemical Physics (2003),
- Fellow of the IBM Academy of TechnologyIBM Academy of TechnologyThe IBM Academy of Technology was founded in 1989 and modeled after the US National Academies of Science and Engineering. It focuses on the technical underpinnings of IBM’s future...
(2004) - Fellow of the Institute of PhysicsInstitute of PhysicsThe Institute of Physics is a scientific charity devoted to increasing the practice, understanding and application of physics. It has a worldwide membership of around 40,000....
(2004) - Academy of AthensAcademy of AthensAcademy of Athens may refer to:* Platonic Academy* Academy of Athens...
(2005) - Julius Springer Prize for Applied Physics of the Editors of Applied Physics AApplied Physics AApplied Physics A : Materials Science and Processing is a peer-reviewed, scientific journal that is published monthly by Springer. The Editor-in-Chief is Michael Stuke of the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, Germany...
, Applied Physics BApplied Physics BApplied Physics B: Lasers & Optics is a peer-reviewed, scientific journal, published by Springer. The Editor-in-Chief is Frank Träger of University of Kassel.-History:...
. (2008 with Tony Heinz)