Körber-Preis für die Europäische Wissenschaft
Award year: 2005
Category: Award / Honour
Type: Körber-Preis für die Europäische Wissenschaft
Awarding organization: Körber-Stiftung
Philip Russell received special renown for the development of a new type of glass fibres that contain tiny air holes. These fibres revolutionise the measurement of light frequencies as they are the main component of a so-called frequency comb, which is a device used to make extremely precise measurements of the wavelength of electromagnetic rays. In addition, the glass fibres are used in new light sources in the ultraviolet range that are important for chip production. Russell’s fibres are also used in fundamental research to investigate, for example, the interaction between light and matter in the nanometre range.