Akos Revesz, Pioneering Semiconductor Researcher, 80
DGH
Akos Revesz, 80; Pioneering Semiconductor Researcher
By Yvonne Shinhoster Lamb, Washington Post Staff Writer
Akos G. Revesz, 80, who was internationally known for his work on
molecular structures of silicon transistors used in satellite
communications and personal computers, died of complications of
lymphoma March 22 [2008] at his home in Bethesda [Maryland].
After fleeing his native Hungary, Dr. Revesz worked in Holland before
being recruited by the National Academy of Sciences in 1959 to help in
the post-Sputnik space race.
He spent the next 10 years at RCA's David Sarnoff Research Center in
Princeton, New Jersey, where he conducted pioneering work on the
thermal oxidation of silicon. He contributed to research about the
stability of metal-oxide-silicon structures, which are the building
blocks of all microelectronic chips, the backbone of modern computers
and other electronic devices.
He received the IEEE's David Sarnoff Outstanding Achievement Award for
his efforts in 1965.
From 1969 until 1983, Dr. Revesz worked at Comsat Laboratories in
Clarksburg [Maryland], where he developed an anti-reflection coating
on solar cells that resulted in a 50 percent increase in power output,
because more solar energy made it into the cell to become electrical
current.
Ever the innovator, Dr. Revesz also solved serious reliability
problems that beset communications satellites. His solution was
applied to 15 satellites launched while he was at Comsat and led to
more than 2 million hours of operation without failure. He also
examined the basic mechanisms related to strength of material and was
credited with determining the failure mode and deriving fixes for the
production of more-reliable electronic devices for space.
Dr. Revesz wrote or co-authored 150 research papers and held several
patents on the fundamentals of semiconductor technology, especially
regarding the silicon/silicon dioxide interface, a crucial component
in nearly all modern-day electronic computer chips.
"His scientific point of view covered a very large spectrum," said
Roderick Devine, a research professor at the University of New Mexico.
"Very often, Akos's thoughts and views were avant-garde, which led
sometimes to his 'crossing swords' with other less-visionary
researchers who were critical of him -- only later to realize that he
was right all along!"
A native of Balassagyarmat, in northern Hungary, Dr. Revesz grew up in
a volatile region of Central Europe between the world wars. During his
childhood, his home town of Losonc changed from Czechoslovakia to
Hungary and back to Czechoslovakia before he left for college.
During World War II, his family home was occupied successively by
German troops in 1944 and Russian troops in 1945 -- while his family
remained in the house, his wife said. At age 17, he escaped forced
conscription into the German army and was accepted into the Budapest
University of Technology and Economics.
In his final year of studies, with the onset of communism in Hungary
after World War II and the ensuing purge of citizens from the
industrialist class, he was expelled from the university. However, a
prominent professor who recognized his talent persuaded the university
to let him complete his studies and receive a diploma.
He received an undergraduate degree in 1950, a master's degree in 1968
and a PhD, all in chemical engineering from the same university.
While working at Tungsram Corp. in Budapest [Hungary] from 1951 to
1956, Dr. Revesz developed and eventually ran that nation's first
semiconductor research and development facility. He was a staunch
critic of the communist regime and fled Hungary during the 1956
revolution.
For the next three years, he worked at Philips Co. in Eindhoven, the
Netherlands, where his research led to the development of advanced
electrical capacitors now used worldwide.
Over the years, Dr. Revesz was a guest research scientist at Centre
National d'Etudes des Télécommunications in Grenoble, France, and at
Forschungszentrum Rossendorf in Dresden, Germany.
After leaving Comsat Laboratories in 1983, he started a Bethesda-based
consulting business and worked with the Naval Research Laboratory and
the Defense Nuclear Agency in Washington [DC], among others.
In 2003, Dr. Revesz received the prestigious Thomas D. Callinan Award
from the Electrochemical Society in Paris for lifetime achievement in
dielectric science and technology.
Dr. Revesz, who spoke five languages, enjoyed music, reading and
gardening. He also was a wine and cheese connoisseur who delighted in
explaining his choices.
He belonged to the Hungarian Club of Washington, the Carderock Springs
Citizens Association, the Wagner Society of Washington, the Goethe
Institute and the Appalachian Mountain Club.
His marriage to Agnes Ernst Revesz ended in divorce.
Survivors include his wife of 33 years, Kinga Revesz of Bethesda; a
son from his first marriage, Thomas Revesz of Washington [DC]; and a
son from his second marriage, Paul Revesz, also of Washington [DC].
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/13/AR2008041302268.html