Phaedon Avouris

Phaedon Avouris (born 1945) is an IBM Fellow and the manager for Nanometer Scale Science and Technology at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York.

Education and Research Interests

Dr. Avouris received his B.Sc. degree at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 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 IBM Fellow. He is currently Manager of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology [http://domino.research.ibm.com/comm/pr.nsf/pages/bio.avouris.html] . 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.

Awards and honors

Dr. Avouris has been elected Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2003) and the Academy of Athens (National Academy of Greece) (2005). He was elected Fellow of the American Physical Society (1987), the Institute of Physics of the U.K. (2004), the IBM Academy of Technology (2004), American Association for the Advancement of Science (1996), New York Academy of Sciences (1999), and the American Vacuum Society (1997) and the World Technology Network (1999).He has received many awards including the APS Irving Langmuir Prize for Chemical Physics (2003) [http://www.aps.org/programs/honors/prizes/prizerecipient.cfm?name=Phaedon%20Avouris&year=2003] , the AVS Medard W. Welch Award for Surface Science (1997) [http://www.avs.org/popup.aspx?FileName=medard] , the Julius Springer Prize for Applied Physics (2008) [http://www.springer-sbm.com/index.php?id=291&backPID=12031&L=0&tx_tnc_news=4825&cHash=272a66ead5] , and the Richard Feynman (1999) [http://www.foresight.org/fi/1999Feynman.html#1999Winners] and ACSIN (2001) Nanotechnology Prizes. He has also received many IBM Corporation “Outstanding Technical Achievement” awards, and Michigan State University’s Distinguished Alumnus Award (2001) [http://naturalscience.msu.edu/alumni/OutstandingAlumniAward.htm] . He serves in the Editorial Boards of a number of journals and book series.

Research Activities

Dr. Avouris has been a pioneer of the nanoscience and nanotechnology field. He pioneered the use of scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy to study surface chemistry on the atomic scale and establish the relation between chemical reactivity and local electronic structure. [cite journal
author=R. Wolkow and Ph. Avouris
title=Atom-Resolved Surface Chemistry Using Scanning Tunneling Microscopy
journal=Physical Review Letters
year=1988
volume=60
pages=1047] [cite journal
author=Ph. Avouris and R. Wolkow
title=Atom-Resolved Surface Chemistry Studied by Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Spectroscopy
journal=Physical Review B
year=1989
volume=39
pages=5091] He demonstrated device-like behavior on the atomic scale, observed electron confinement and interference effects at surfaces, [cite journal
author=Y. Hasegawa and Ph. Avouris
title=Direct Observation of Standing Wave Formation at Surface Steps Using Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy
journal=Physical Review Letters
year=1993
volume=71
pages=1071] [cite journal
author=Ph. Avouris and I.-W. Lyo
title=Observation of Quantum Size Effects at Room Temperature at Metal Surfaces with the STM
journal=Science
year=1994
volume=264
pages=942] and manipulated covalently-bonded atoms with atomic precision. [cite journal
author=I.-W. Lyo and Ph. Avouris
title=Field-Induced Nanometer- to Atomic-Scale Manipulation of Silicon Surfaces with the STM
journal=Science
year=1991
volume=253
pages=173] [cite journal
author=Ph. Avouris
title=Manipulation of Matter at the Atomic and Molecular Levels
journal=Accounts of Chemical Research
year=1995
volume=28
pages=95] More recently, Phaedon Avouris made critical discoveries, both experimental and theoretical, on the electronics and photonics of carbon nanotubes (CNT) and graphene and laid the foundations of a future carbon-based nanotechnology. [cite journal
author=Ph. Avouris
url=http://physicsworldarchive.iop.org/index.cfm?action=summary&doc=20%2F3%2Fphwv20i3a32%40pwa-xml&qt=avouris
title=Electronics with carbon nanotubes
journal=Physics World
year=2007
volume=20
pages=40-45] [cite journal
author=Ph. Avouris, Z. Chen, V. Perebeinos
url=http://www.nature.com/nnano/journal/v2/n10/abs/nnano.2007.300.html
title=Carbon Based Electronics
journal=Nature Nanotechnology
year=2007
volume=2
doi=10.1038/nnano.2007.300
pages=605-615] [cite journal
author=Ph. Avouris, M. Freitag and V. Perebeinos
url=http://www.nature.com/nphoton/journal/v2/n6/full/nphoton.2008.94.html
title=Carbon Nanotube Optics and Optoelectronics
journal=Nature Photonics
year=2008
volume=2
doi=10.1038/nphoton.2008.94
pages=341-350] In 1998 Avouris’ team at IBM independently demonstrated the very first molecular transistor based on a single CNT. Subsequently, Avouris 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. Avouris 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.

References

*cite journal
author=R. Wolkow and Ph. Avouris
title=Atom-Resolved Surface Chemistry Using Scanning Tunneling Microscopy
journal=Physical Review Letters
year=1988
volume=60
pages=5091
*cite journal
author=Ph. Avouris and R. Wolkow
title=Atom-Resolved Surface Chemistry Studied by Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Spectroscopy
journal=Physical Review B
year=1989
volume=39
pages=5091
*cite journal
author=Y. Hasegawa and Ph. Avouris
title=Direct Observation of Standing Wave Formation at Surface Steps Using Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy
journal=Physical Review Letters
year=1993
volume=71
pages=1071
*cite journal
author=Ph. Avouris and I.-W. Lyo
title=Observation of Quantum Size Effects at Room Temperature at Metal Surfaces with the STM
journal=Science
year=1994
volume=264
pages=942
*cite journal
author=I.-W. Lyo and Ph. Avouris
title=Field-Induced Nanometer- to Atomic-Scale Manipulation of Silicon Surfaces with the STM
journal=Science
year=1991
volume=253
pages=173*cite journal
author=Ph. Avouris
title=Manipulation of Matter at the Atomic and Molecular Levels
journal=Accounts of Chemical Research
year=1995
volume=28
pages=95
*cite journal
author=Ph. Avouris
url=http://physicsworldarchive.iop.org/index.cfm?action=summary&doc=20%2F3%2Fphwv20i3a32%40pwa-xml&qt=avouris
title=Electronics with carbon nanotubes
journal=Physics World
year=2007
volume=20
pages=40-45
*cite journal
author=Ph. Avouris, Z. Chen, V. Perebeinos
title=Carbon Based Electronics
journal=Nature Nanotechnology
year=2007
volume=2
doi=10.1038/nnano.2007.300
pages=605-615
*cite journal
author=Ph. Avouris, M. Freitag and V. Perebeinos
title=Carbon Nanotube Optics and Optoelectronics
journal=Nature Photonics
year=2008
volume=2
doi=10.1038/nphoton.2008.94
pages=341-350

External links

* [http://domino.research.ibm.com/comm/pr.nsf/pages/bio.avouris.html IBM Research Page]
* [http://www.research.ibm.com/nanoscience/ Nanometer Scale Science and Technology Group Homepage]
* [http://www.aps.org/praw/langmuir/index.cfm Irving Langmuir Prize]
* [http://www.ana.gr/anaweb/user/selectlang?lang=en&currpageurl=%2Fuser%2Fshowprel%3Fservice%3D3%26maindoc%3D2689441 Academy of Athens]
* [http://www.foresight.org/about/fi_spons.html#PrevPrizes Feynman Prize Recipients, Foresight Nanotech Institute]