Heinz Raether

Heinz Raether
Born	Heinz Artur Raether (1909-10-14)14 October 1909 Nuremberg, German Empire
Died	31 December 1986(1986-12-31) (aged 77) Aumühle, West Germany
Known for	Kretschmann-Raether configuration Raether limit
Scientific career
Fields	Condensed matter physics Plasma physics
Institutions	University of Jena University of Hamburg Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities

Heinz Artur Raether (14 October 1909 — 31 December 1986) was a German physicist. He is best known for his theoretical and experimental contributions to the study of surface plasmons, as well as for Kretschmann-Raether configuration, a commonly used experimental setup for the excitation of surface plasmon resonances.

From 1944 to 1946 he was a professor of physics at the University of Jena at the Physikalisches Institut. Here he dealt with electron physics, electron microscopy, electron interference and gas discharges.

In 1951, he took over the management of the Institute for Applied Physics at the University of Hamburg. After the development of the transistor, he focused on solid state physics. His work during this period concerned the structure and growth of crystals. Later he became interested in the collective behavior of the electrons of a crystal, the solid-state electron plasma.

In gas discharge physics, he devoted himself to the ignition process, especially the formation of the spark channel, the initial phase of electrical breakdown. In 1963 he was elected a full member of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences. In 1979 he was elected a member of the Academy of Sciences Leopoldina.

Selected publications

Articles

Books

See also

• Raether limit
• Surface plasmon polariton
• Townsend discharge