The EPS Plasma Physics Division is happy to announce that the EPS PPD Innovation Prize 2018 has been awarded to

Professor Arutiun Ehiasarian

"for the use of plasma physics in coating technology and engineering, through seminal contributions to the science and industrial applications of High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering for substrate pre-treatment and deposition of coatings and thin films."

Long citation

The emergence of the High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering (HIPIMS) is the most significant development in plasma vapour deposition (PVD) technology in the past decade. Its importance to the field is at the same level as the invention of the magnetron itself. After more than a decade of dedication to the development of this technology, the undisputed leader in the area of HIPIMS is Professor Arutiun P. Ehiasarian of Sheffield Hallam University, UK. His accomplishments are many, and include: significantly deepening the understanding of the fundamentals of the process; being the first to implement the technique using industrial scale equipment; patenting HIPIMS metal ion surface pre-treatment; and being the first to analyze the growth mechanisms of complex films.  Furthermore Professor Ehiasarian has been a leader in organising scientific forums to exchange knowledge and accelerate the progress of this new area of plasma physics applications.

Professor Ehiasarian's central role in developing understanding of the physics of the HIPIMS discharge and applications to thin film technology is reflected by the fact that, in 2003, he was awarded the first UK grant to study the fundamental physics of HIPIMS. His research provided the first direct evidence of the presence of large fractions of singly and doubly charged metal ions in HIPIMS, through electron impact ionisation.  He discovered a new regime of plasma confinement and mechanism for discharge sustainment. He elucidated the origins of the ion and electron energy distribution functions, and found conditions for high levels of dissociation of reactive gas, leading to changes in crystallographic texture and extreme densification of the deposited films. In 2006 he discovered strong instabilities in the HIPIMS plasma which self-organised along the racetrack, causing localised ejection of plasma across magnetic field lines. This has led to a revision of the understanding of the working principle of the magnetron itself.

Professor Ehiasarian is among the world leaders in the effort to make HIPIMS accessible to the wider community and to develop its industrial applications. He was the first in the field to accomplish the scale-up of the HIPIMS process. Based on his design, Hüttinger manufactured the first industrially viable power supply to drive targets with an area of 2000 square centimetres. This instigated the industrialisation of the HIPIMS technology worldwide. Professor Ehiasarian has supported the establishment of the largest production HIPIMS coating facility at Ionbond UK in 2014. Based on his work, Zimmer Biomet successfully implanted HIPIMS-coated artificial joints in a sheep test model; this demonstrated unparalleled biocompatibility, metal ion release reduction, and adhesion.

Professor Ehiasarian patented the HIPIMS etching technology which has been licensed to number of companies in Europe and the USA. Both Hauzer and CemeCon market HIPIMS systems for hard coatings, with impressive sales.  Two of their customers, Walter AG and Mitsubishi Materials, offer HIPIMS-coated cutting tools in their commercial portfolio. Collaboration with Oerlikon Balzers to introduce production technology for wafer metallisation led to several systems operating in the field. Together with the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (UK), Professor Ehiasarian developed HIPIMS technology for coatings for cryogenic coolers for space satellites, achieving spaceflight qualification.

Professor Ehiasarian has been the clear leader in rallying the international scientific community to focus on the new HIPIMS technology, and to promote the dissemination and exchange of knowledge. As early as 2003 he organised and chaired the first HIPIMS sessions at international conferences in the USA. Since 2010 he has chaired the International Conference on HIPIMS, organised jointly with the Fraunhofer IST and endorsed by the European Joint Committee.

In general the whole body of Professor Ehiasarian’s work is impressive. It provides a rare example of exceptionally broad research across the whole spectrum from fundamental studies to large scale industrialisation.

The Landau-Spitzer Award on the Physics of Plasmas for “Outstanding contributions to plasma physics” is jointly sponsored by the Plasma Physics Divisions of the American Physical Society and the European Physical Society.

The Award is given to an individual or group of researchers for outstanding theoretical, experimental or technical contribution(s) in plasma physics and for advancing the collaboration and unity between Europe and the USA by joint research or research that advances knowledge which benefits the two communities in a unique way. The award may be given to a team or collaboration of up to four persons affiliated with either the European or US institutions.
See details in http://plasma.ciemat.es/eps/awards/landau-spitzer-award/131-2/
 
This year the award is intended for an early career researcher (in the first 10 years of their career following the award of a PhD). This year the winner/-s would be offered an invited talk at the 2018 APS DPP meeting.
 
Establishment & Support
The American Physical Society (APS) and the European Physical Society (EPS), through their respective Plasma Physics Divisions, will each contribute $2000 per prize.
 
Rules & Eligibility
Self-nominations are not accepted. Members of the APS Division of Plasma Physics Executive Committee or members of the EPS Plasma Physics Division Board are not eligible.

Nomination & Selection Process

• Deadline: Thursday, March 8, 2018
• To start a new or update a continuing nomination, please see the Prize & Award Nomination Guidelines.
• Nominations to be sent to David Meyerhofer (Chair).

The European Physical Society would like to thank you for your interest and support throughout 2017.

The EPS secretariat will be closed between Christmas and New Year, from 22 December 2017 to 3 January 2018.

WASHINGTON, 30 November 2017- OSA

The Optical Society (OSA) and the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft (DPG) today announce that the 2018 Herbert Walther Award will be presented to Gerd Leuchs, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, Erlangen and University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany. The award was given to Leuchs ‘for his pioneering and widespread scientific contributions ranging from ultrasmall focii of light to nonlinear optics, squeezed states of light and their application in metrology and quantum information, as well as for a continuing commitment to the physics community, quantum optics and his students and team members.’

 “Gerd’s many research accomplishments are well known throughout the scientific community,” said Liz Rogan, CEO, The Optical Society. “Dr. Walther was known for his leadership and Gerd has modeled this quality though his effective connections with colleagues and organizations respresenting all aspects of the science eco-system.”

 Professor at the Department of Physics with the University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany, and director of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light in Erlangen, Gerd Leuchs stated, “I have dedicated my life’s work to researching nano photonics and quantum optics, optical communication and quantum information. An early influence on my career was Herbert Walther and I would like to thank The Optical Society and DPG for this great honor in Herbert’s name.”

Leuchs’ Division at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light focuses on the three-dimensional vector patterns of optical modes and on their quantized excitation. The work spurred a worldwide increase of research into radially polarized and related light modes that has led to projects on the transverse angular momentum of light, on localization of particles and on non-factorable mode patterns resembling entanglement and including applications. In 1979, Leuchs' observation of photon anti bunching and of squeezed light in second harmonic generation in 1990 and has led to numerous on-going projects on quantum communication. He was elected Foreign Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He has also been an Alexander von Humboldt Lecturer in Russia and chair of the ICONO/LAT conference. Leuchs studied Physics at the University of Cologne and received his PhD degree from the University of Munich where Prof. Herbert Walther was his scientific advisor and later a colleague. Leuchs is a member of the Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, German Physical Society, European Physical Society, German Society of Applied Optics, The Optical Society, Institute of Physics (London), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has more than 200 publications in scientific journals and is editor of three books.

Established in 2007, the Walther Award is named in honor of Dr. Herbert Walther for the seminal influence of his groundbreaking innovations in quantum optics and atomic physics, and for his wide-ranging contributions to the international scientific community.