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Oleg Losev

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167: 438: 294:. Although he managed to attend a few classes, he remained throughout his life a self-taught scientist who never got to complete a college education, never had the support of a collaborator or research team, and never held a position higher than a technician. Nevertheless, he managed to conduct original research. His interests focused on the point-contact 47: 369:
due to microscopic electric arcs. Losev measured rates of evaporation of benzine from the crystal surface and found it was not accelerated when light was emitted, concluding that the luminescence was a "cold" light not caused by thermal effects. He theorized correctly that the explanation of the light emission was in the new science of
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The series of articles on the LED Losev published between 1924 and 1941 constitute a thorough study of the device. He did extensive research into the mechanism of light emission. At the time, the prevailing theory of point contact junctions was that they worked by a thermoelectric effect, possibly
333:. He was eventually awarded a PhD from the Institute in 1938 without completing a formal thesis, but it came too late to benefit his career. After much hardship, in 1937 Losev was forced to take a position as a technician at the physics department of the Leningrad First Medical Institute (now the 289: 352:
In radio receivers, crystal detectors were often forward-biased with DC current from a battery to make them more sensitive rectifiers. In the course of investigating biased junctions as a technician at Nizhny Novgorod around 1924, Losev noticed that when direct current was passed through a
1011: 166: 365:, he had just published a brief two paragraph note on it. Losev was the first to investigate the effect, propose a theory of how it worked, and envision practical applications. In 1927, Losev published details in a Russian journal. 334: 449:
in 1924 to Losev's instructions. The zinc oxide point contact diode which serves as the active device is labeled (9). These devices were the first semiconductor oscillators.
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crystals were hard to come by because they had to be imported from the United States. After ten years he abandoned research into this technology (dubbed "Crystodyne" by
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electronic devices, and although they were widely used, almost nothing was known about how they worked. Losev became one of the world's first semiconductor physicists.
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Losev, O. V. (1927). "Светящийся карборундовый детектор и детектирование с кристаллами" [Luminous carborundum detector and detection with crystals].
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a signal. Losev was the first to exploit negative resistance diodes practically; he realized that they could serve as simpler, cheaper replacements for
275:, an upper-class family background was a bar to higher education and career advancement. Losev went to work as a technician at the recently established 395:
and so was very inefficient as a light-emitting diode, much less efficient than the direct bandgap semiconductor materials used in modern LEDs, such as
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When Nizhny Novgorod was shut down in 1928, he transferred along with many of the research staff to the Central Radio Laboratory (CRL) in Leningrad (
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Although he was never able to complete formal education and never held a research position, Losev conducted some of the earliest research into
1360: 224:(LED), did the first research on them, proposed the first correct theory of how they worked, and used them in practical applications such as 220:" (the Soviet version of patents) for his discoveries. He observed light emission from carborundum point-contact junctions, constructing a 1395: 477:. but not much attention had been paid to it. In 1923 Losev began to research these "oscillating crystals" and discovered that biased 1145: 1095: 929: 824: 784: 659: 774: 153: 276: 261: 578: 357:(carborundum) point contact junction, a spot of greenish light was given off at the contact point. Losev had constructed a 1385: 814: 156:(NRL), Central Radio Laboratory (TSRL, Leningrad), Leningrad Physicotechnical Institute, First Leningrad Medical Institute 919: 1390: 983: 742: 502: 886:
Lossev, O. V. (November 1928). "Luminous carborundum detector and detection effect and oscillations with crystals".
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in semiconductor junctions, and was first to use them practically for amplification, building the first solid-state
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K. Lehovec, C.A. Accardo and E. Jamgochian (1951-08-01). "Injected light emission of silicon carbide crystals".
217: 506: 1237: 1330: 888: 143: 284: 1060: 442: 437: 237: 260:, Russia. His father was a retired captain in the Tsarist Imperial Army, who worked in the office of 1350: 1345: 1038: 956: 726: 494: 470: 374: 358: 268: 264:(Tversky Wagon Works), a local rolling stock factory. Losev graduated from secondary school in 1920. 221: 206: 170:
Employees of the Central Radio Laboratory, Leningrad, 1930. Losev is in fourth row, third from left.
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are used in microwave oscillators and amplifiers and are some of the most widely used sources of
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Losev died of starvation in 1942, at the age of 38, along with many other civilians, during the
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M. A. Novikov (January 2004) "Oleg Vladimirovich Losev: Pioneer of Semiconductor Electronics,"
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Lee, Thomas H. (2004) The Design of CMOS Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuits, 2nd Ed., p. 20
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He developed a practical solid-state silicon carbide light source, which generated light by
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by the Germans during World War 2. It is not known where he was buried.
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in 1905. He wrote to Einstein about it, but did not receive a reply.
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Historical Encyclopedia of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, Vol. 1
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effect, and had been noticed around 1909 by researchers such as
257: 60: 1009:, Losev O.V., "Световое реле", published 31.12.1929 465:, producing a radio frequency alternating current. This was a 816:
The Design of CMOS Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuits, 2nd Ed
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Negative resistance in diodes was rediscovered in 1956 in the
426: 412:. Losev's papers were cited but his name appeared as Lossew. 399:. No one saw a use for these weak green lights except Losev. 513:
technology. The Soviet authorities did not support him, and
493:. He used these junctions to build solid-state versions of 457:, in order to increase its sensitivity as a detector in a 193:; 10 May 1903 – 22 January 1942) was a Russian and Soviet 1327:
Facsimile of "Light Relay" and other Oleg Losev's patents
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At this time in Russian history, three years after the
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First Pavlov State Medical University of St. Peterburg
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radio receivers, 25 years before the invention of the
710:"The life and times of the LED – a 100-year history" 310:radios were developed in World War 1. These crude 149: 135: 110: 102: 72: 53: 32: 329:, from 1929 to 1933 he conducted research at the 201:who made significant discoveries in the field of 528:, and today negative resistance diodes like the 819:. UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 20. 298:(cat's whisker detector), which was used as a 1031:Proceedings of the Physical Society of London 768: 766: 764: 762: 373:, speculating that it was the inverse of the 8: 1265: 1263: 924:. Cambridge University Press. pp. 2–3. 869: 867: 703: 701: 699: 697: 695: 693: 691: 1238:"The Crystal as a Generator and Amplifier" 1116:"The Discovery of the Oscillating Crystal" 1109: 1107: 913: 911: 689: 687: 685: 683: 681: 679: 677: 675: 673: 671: 572: 45: 29: 27:Russian scientist and inventor (1903–1942) 570: 568: 566: 564: 562: 560: 558: 556: 554: 552: 461:, it occasionally broke into spontaneous 216:, publishing 43 papers and receiving 16 " 1173: 1171: 643: 641: 639: 637: 635: 633: 631: 629: 627: 625: 453:When a DC bias voltage was applied to a 425:gives credit to Losev for inventing the 1308: 1306: 1304: 1302: 548: 1114:Pickard, Greenleaf W. (January 1925). 256:Losev was born into a noble family in 1003:Soviet patent #12191 granted in 1929. 808: 806: 804: 802: 800: 798: 796: 7: 1090:. John Wiley & Sons. p. 4. 302:in the first early radio receivers, 1242:The Wireless World and Radio Review 1087:RF and Microwave Transmitter Design 840:Round, Henry J. (9 February 1907). 1270:Gernsback, Hugo (September 1924). 331:Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute 325:). At the invitation of director 25: 1381:Victims of the Siege of Leningrad 1236:Gabel, Victor (October 1, 1924). 1184:United States Early Radio History 984:"The LED – older than we thought" 651:Lonely Ideas: Can Russia Compete? 154:Nizhniy-Novgorod Radio Laboratory 708:Zheludev, Nikolay (April 2007). 277:Nizhny Novgorod Radio Laboratory 262:Tverskoy Vagonostroitelniy Zavod 1272:"A Sensational Radio Invention" 1: 1356:Light-emitting diode pioneers 1205:Losev, O. V. (January 1925). 884:English version published as 654:. MIT Press. pp. 62–63. 271:, during the upheaval of the 1361:Russian electrical engineers 1084:Grebennikov, Andrei (2011). 503:regenerative radio receivers 406:et al. published a paper in 1396:Soviet electrical engineers 982:Tom Simonite (2007-04-11). 415:In the April 2007 issue of 1412: 1290:"The Crystodyne Principle" 1065:The Philosophical Magazine 1051:10.1088/1478-7814/22/1/326 1025:Eccles, W.H. (1909–1910). 918:Schubert, E. Fred (2003). 779:. Springer. p. 3588. 619:is on the Springer archive 617:, vol. 46, no. 1, page 1-4 615:Physics of the Solid State 191:Оле́г Влади́мирович Ло́сев 1178:White, Thomas H. (2003). 902:10.1080/14786441108564683 773:Ben-Menahem, Ari (2009). 521:), and it was forgotten. 388:. Silicon carbide is an 190: 160: 128: 44: 39: 595:(1): 5–9. Archived from 579: 507:superheterodyne receiver 441:"Crystodyne" zinc oxide 283:, where he worked under 252:Career and personal life 175:Oleg Vladimirovich Losev 18:Oleg Vladimirovich Losev 842:"A note on carborundum" 813:Lee, Thomas H. (2004). 739:10.1038/nphoton.2007.34 611:An English translation 577:Новиков, M. A. (2004). 433:Solid-state electronics 203:semiconductor junctions 1207:"Oscillating Crystals" 1186:. earlyradiohistory.us 969:10.1103/PhysRev.83.603 889:Philosophical Magazine 648:Graham, Loren (2013). 455:cat's whisker detector 450: 238:electronic oscillators 171: 144:electrical engineering 1059:Eccles, W.H. (1910). 986:. New Scientist Blogs 921:Light-emitting Diodes 589:Физика Твердого Тела 443:electronic oscillator 440: 348:Light-emitting diodes 218:author's certificates 169: 1386:Deaths by starvation 1331:Russian Patents blog 1292:, (September 1924), 471:William Henry Eccles 375:photoelectric effect 359:light-emitting diode 312:semiconductor diodes 269:Bolshevik Revolution 222:light-emitting diode 207:light emitting diode 1296:, pp. 294–295, 431. 1043:1909PPSL...22..360E 961:1951PhRv...83..603L 731:2007NaPho...1..189Z 467:negative resistance 386:electroluminescence 285:Vladimir Lebedinsky 230:negative resistance 226:electroluminescence 177:(sometimes spelled 106:physicist, inventor 1391:Russian scientists 451: 363:Henry Joseph Round 342:Siege of Leningrad 172: 1366:Soviet physicists 896:(39): 1024–1044. 485:) crystals could 371:quantum mechanics 273:Russian Civil War 164: 163: 130:Scientific career 16:(Redirected from 1403: 1376:Soviet inventors 1371:People from Tver 1315: 1310: 1297: 1287: 1285: 1283: 1267: 1258: 1257: 1255: 1253: 1233: 1227: 1226: 1224: 1222: 1202: 1196: 1195: 1193: 1191: 1175: 1166: 1165: 1163: 1161: 1156:: 44. 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Archived from 718:Nature Photonics 714: 705: 666: 665: 645: 620: 610: 608: 607: 601: 586: 574: 423:Nikolay Zheludev 418:Nature Photonics 390:indirect bandgap 296:crystal detector 293: 192: 83: 81: 67:, Russian Empire 65:Tver Governorate 49: 30: 21: 1411: 1410: 1406: 1405: 1404: 1402: 1401: 1400: 1336: 1335: 1323: 1318: 1311: 1300: 1281: 1279: 1269: 1268: 1261: 1251: 1249: 1235: 1234: 1230: 1220: 1218: 1217:(7): 1167, 1287 1204: 1203: 1199: 1189: 1187: 1177: 1176: 1169: 1159: 1157: 1144: 1143: 1139: 1129: 1127: 1113: 1112: 1105: 1098: 1083: 1082: 1078: 1058: 1024: 1023: 1019: 1012: 1005: 1004: 1002: 998: 989: 987: 981: 980: 976: 948:Physical Review 944: 943: 939: 932: 917: 916: 909: 885: 873: 872: 865: 855: 853: 839: 838: 834: 827: 812: 811: 794: 787: 772: 771: 760: 751: 749: 745: 712: 707: 706: 669: 662: 647: 646: 623: 605: 603: 599: 584: 581: 576: 575: 550: 546: 445:constructed by 435: 409:Physical Review 397:gallium nitride 379:Albert Einstein 355:silicon carbide 350: 314:were the first 306:before powered 287: 281:Nizhny Novgorod 254: 242:superheterodyne 228:. He explored 98: 85: 79: 77: 76:22 January 1942 68: 58: 35: 28: 23: 22: 15: 12: 11: 5: 1409: 1407: 1399: 1398: 1393: 1388: 1383: 1378: 1373: 1368: 1363: 1358: 1353: 1348: 1338: 1337: 1334: 1333: 1322: 1321:External links 1319: 1317: 1316: 1298: 1259: 1228: 1197: 1167: 1137: 1103: 1097:978-0470520994 1096: 1076: 1074: 1073: 1067:. 6th series. 1057:Reprinted in: 1037:(1): 360–368. 1017: 996: 974: 955:(3): 603–608. 937: 931:978-0521533515 930: 907: 882:(44): 485–494. 863: 832: 826:978-0521835398 825: 792: 786:978-3540688310 785: 758: 725:(4): 189–192. 667: 661:978-0262019798 660: 621: 591:(in Russian). 547: 545: 542: 519:Hugo Gernsback 501:, and TRF and 447:Hugo Gernsback 434: 431: 349: 346: 323:St. Petersburg 304:crystal radios 253: 250: 214:semiconductors 162: 161: 158: 157: 151: 147: 146: 137: 133: 132: 126: 125: 112: 111:Known for 108: 107: 104: 100: 99: 86: 84:(aged 38) 74: 70: 69: 59: 55: 51: 50: 42: 41: 37: 36: 33: 26: 24: 14: 13: 10: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 1408: 1397: 1394: 1392: 1389: 1387: 1384: 1382: 1379: 1377: 1374: 1372: 1369: 1367: 1364: 1362: 1359: 1357: 1354: 1352: 1349: 1347: 1344: 1343: 1341: 1332: 1328: 1325: 1324: 1320: 1314: 1309: 1307: 1305: 1303: 1299: 1295: 1291: 1277: 1273: 1266: 1264: 1260: 1247: 1243: 1239: 1232: 1229: 1216: 1212: 1208: 1201: 1198: 1190:September 23, 1185: 1181: 1174: 1172: 1168: 1155: 1151: 1147: 1141: 1138: 1125: 1121: 1117: 1110: 1108: 1104: 1099: 1093: 1089: 1088: 1080: 1077: 1070: 1066: 1062: 1056: 1055: 1052: 1048: 1044: 1040: 1036: 1032: 1028: 1021: 1018: 1008: 1000: 997: 985: 978: 975: 970: 966: 962: 958: 954: 950: 949: 941: 938: 933: 927: 923: 922: 914: 912: 908: 903: 899: 895: 891: 890: 881: 877: 870: 868: 864: 851: 847: 843: 836: 833: 828: 822: 818: 817: 809: 807: 805: 803: 801: 799: 797: 793: 788: 782: 778: 777: 769: 767: 765: 763: 759: 748:on 2017-03-31 744: 740: 736: 732: 728: 724: 720: 719: 711: 704: 702: 700: 698: 696: 694: 692: 690: 688: 686: 684: 682: 680: 678: 676: 674: 672: 668: 663: 657: 653: 652: 644: 642: 640: 638: 636: 634: 632: 630: 628: 626: 622: 618: 616: 602:on 2007-09-28 598: 594: 590: 582: 573: 571: 569: 567: 565: 563: 561: 559: 557: 555: 553: 549: 543: 541: 539: 535: 531: 527: 522: 520: 516: 512: 508: 504: 500: 496: 492: 488: 484: 480: 476: 475:G. 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Index

Oleg Vladimirovich Losev

Tver
Tver Governorate
Leningrad
Russian SFSR
Soviet Union
Inventions
radio
LEDs
Physics
electrical engineering
Nizhniy-Novgorod Radio Laboratory

Russian
scientist
inventor
semiconductor junctions
light emitting diode
semiconductors
author's certificates
light-emitting diode
electroluminescence
negative resistance
amplifiers
electronic oscillators
superheterodyne
transistor
Tver
Tverskoy Vagonostroitelniy Zavod

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