physics

Kurt Lehovec

Kurt Lehovec is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Kurt Lehovec rather than just read about it. In short: Kurt Lehovec (12 June 1918 – 17 February 2012) was a Czech-American physicist. He one of the pioneers of the integrated circuit.

Key takeaways

Kurt Lehovec belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Kurt Lehovec to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Kurt Lehovec from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Kurt Lehovec (12 June 1918 – 17 February 2012) was a Czech-American physicist. He one of the pioneers of the integrated circuit. While also pioneering the photo-voltaic effect, light-emitting diodes and lithium batteries, he innovated the concept of p-n junction isolation used in every circuit element with a guard ring: a reverse-biased p-n junction surrounding the planar periphery of that element. This patent was assigned to Sprague Electric. Because Lehovec was under salary with Sprague, he was paid only one dollar for this invention. Lehovec is also credited with discovering fast ion conductivity, and the invention of colored LEDs.

Biography Lehovec was born 12 June 1918, in Ledvice in northern Bohemia in Austria-Hungary (now part of the Czech Republic). He was educated there and went to the United States in 1947 under the auspices of Operation Paperclip which allowed scientists and engineers to emigrate. With Carl Accardo and Edward Jamgochian, he explained the first light-emitting diodes citing previous work by Oleg Losev. The important case of fast ionic conduction in solid states is one in a surface space-charge layer of ionic crystals. Such conduction was first predicted by K. Lehovec in the paper "Space-charge layer and distribution of lattice defects at the surface of ionic crystals" ( J. Chem. Phys. 1953. V.21. P.1123 -1128). As a space-charge layer has nanometer thickness, the effect is directly related to nanoionics (nanoionics-I). The Lehovec effect forms a basis for a creation of multitude nanostructured fast ion conductors as used in modern portable lithium batteries and fuel cells. Lehovec was a Professor Emeritus at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California, and after retirement from USC Lehovec took to writing poetry. He lived in Southern California until his death in 2012 at the age of 93.

Publications (unconfirmed)

See also Invention of the integrated circuit

References

External links The Americanisation Of Kurt Lehovec, Electronics Weekly, retrieved 18 July 2014

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Kurt Lehovec

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Kurt Lehovec claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Kurt Lehovec before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Kurt Lehovec ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Kurt Lehovec

In research: Kurt Lehovec appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Kurt Lehovec in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Kurt Lehovec is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1918 births, 2012 deaths, 20th-century American physicists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Kurt Lehovec outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Kurt Lehovec in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Kurt Lehovec means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Kurt Lehovec out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kurt Lehovec in simple terms?

Kurt Lehovec (12 June 1918 – 17 February 2012) was a Czech-American physicist. He one of the pioneers of the integrated circuit.

Why does Kurt Lehovec matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Kurt Lehovec?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Kurt Lehovec.