Daniel Kaplan (born 28 April 1941) is a French

condensed matter physicist Condensed matter physics is the field of physics that deals with the macroscopic and microscopic physical properties of matter, especially the solid and liquid phases which arise from electromagnetic forces between atoms. More generally, the su ...

whose main work concerns the electronic properties of semiconductors,

magnetic resonance Magnetic resonance is a process by which a physical excitation (resonance) is set up via magnetism. This process was used to develop magnetic resonance imaging and Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy technology. It is also being used to ...

and ultra-short pulse lasers. He is a member of the

French Academy of Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV of France, Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific me ...

Biography

Daniel Kaplan is a physicist working in the fields of condensed matter physics, magnetic resonance and ultra-short pulse laser optics. After graduating from the École Polytechnique (Class of 1960), he joined the Condensed Matter Laboratory headed by Ionel Solomon at the École Polytechnique. He is defending a doctoral thesis on the magnetic resonance of conduction electrons in indium antimonide. In parallel, he is exploring new techniques to detect the magnetic resonance of electrons (

spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

-dependent recombination) and nuclei (nuclear field effect on

magnetoresistance Magnetoresistance is the tendency of a material (often ferromagnetic) to change the value of its electrical resistance in an externally-applied magnetic field. There are a variety of effects that can be called magnetoresistance. Some occur in bulk ...

Professional career

From 1970 to 1972 Daniel Kaplan worked in the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

at IBM's T.J. Watson Research Center. He explores, using magnetic resonance, the structure of thin layers of amorphous silicon. It shows that, in pure amorphous silicon, a minimum number of unsatisfied chemical bonds is required to meet the stresses of the structure. These bond breaks produce paramagnetic sites and the reduction in the number of these sites is always due to additional chemical elements such as hydrogen. Hydrogenated amorphous silicon will later become a basic material for the production of large-area electronic devices such as flat screens or

photovoltaic Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially us ...

panels. In 1972, he joined the physics laboratory of the Central Research Laboratory of

Thomson CSF Thomson-CSF was a French company that specialized in the development and manufacture of electronics with a heavy focus upon the aerospace and defence sectors of the market. Thomson-CSF was formed in 1968 following the merger of Thomson-Houst ...

(now Thales) in Palaiseau. His main research activity is focused on understanding the insulating-metal transition in oxides such as

Vanadium Dioxide Vanadium(IV) oxide or vanadium dioxide is an inorganic compound with the formula VO2. It is a dark blue solid. Vanadium(IV) dioxide is amphoteric, dissolving in non-oxidising acids to give the blue vanadyl ion, Osup>2+ and in alkali to give the ...

. The combination of optical, electrical and magnetic resonance measurements clarified the respective roles of the network distortion degeneration lift and the

Mott transition A Mott transition is a metal-nonmetal transition in condensed matter. Due to electric field screening the potential energy becomes much more sharply (exponentially) peaked around the equilibrium position of the atom and electrons become localized an ...

in this phase change. At the same time, he is continuing his research on amorphous silicon. It shows that the paramagnetic resonance signals observed on vacuum-cleaved silicon crystal surfaces are due to contamination by small amorphous silicon particles. It also demonstrates the process of hydrogenation of pure amorphous silicon layers with hydrogen plasma. In addition, the mechanism of spin-dependent recombination in silicon is elucidated in a theoretical paper published by Kaplan, Solomon, and Mott. In 1983, he joined the medical branch of Thomson CSF (Thomson CGR) as Scientific Director. He then supervised research and development in the field of digital radiology, X-ray scanning and magnetic resonance imaging. In 1988, he became head of Thomson CSF's central research laboratory, which conducts research covering computer science, electronic and optical devices and new techniques for consumer electronics. He was president of the French Physical Society between 1992 and 1994. In 1993, he left the Thomson CSF group and created the Alloy company to develop an original way of conducting public-private partnership research. The Alloy company hires young researchers to work in public laboratories, in France or abroad, on industrial projects. Daniel Kaplan plays the role of project manager in these actions. He repeatedly presents this mode of operation and its importance in conferences. In 1999, he founded Fastlite with P Tournois to design and manufacture instruments in the field of ultra-short pulse lasers. The company's flagship product will be an original

acousto-optical Acousto-optics is a branch of physics that studies the interactions between sound waves and light waves, especially the diffraction of laser light by ultrasound (or sound in general) through an ultrasonic grating. Introduction Optics has had a ...

device (Dazzler™) allowing the electronic programming of the spectral phase of these lasers. This programming is an essential tool for the implementation of the CPA ( Chirped Pulse Amplification) method, invented by Mourou and Strickland (Nobel Prize 2018), which has profoundly transformed the performance of ultra-intense lasers. The company will also invent and commercialize a new method for measuring the temporal form of pulses. Daniel Kaplan is currently President of Fastlite, which continues to develop its activity in the field of parametric amplification of ultra-short pulses.

Distinctions

* 2013: Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur * Member of the French Academy of Sciences, elected on 5 November 2001 * Member of the French Academy of Technologies in 2000 * Winner in 1984 of the Blondel medal awarded by the Société de l'électricité, de l'électronique et des technologies de l'information et de la communication. * Officier in the Ordre National du Mérite.

Publication

In collaboration with A. Aspect, R. Balian, G. Bastard, J.P. Bouchaud, B. Cabane, F. Combes, T. Encrenaz, S. Fauve, A. Fert, M. Fink, A. Georges, J.F. Joanny, D. Le Bihan, P. Léna, H. Le Treut, J-P Poirier, J. Prost and J.L. Puget, Demain la physique, Odile Jacob editions, 2009 ( )

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaplan, Daniel Members of the French Academy of Sciences French physicists École Polytechnique alumni Research directors of the French National Centre for Scientific Research 1941 births Living people