Work

Semiconductors, materials with properties between those of electrical conductors and insulators, are the basis for most electronic components. Some components use heterostructures, in which semiconductor materials lie in thin sheets. In 1963, at the same time as but independently of Herbert Kroemer, Zhores Alferov built a heterostructure that acted as a laser. Semiconductor lasers have since become important for the transmission of signals in optical fibers and for storage and reading of data.