Robert J. McIntyre
- Death date
- 1998/09/16
- Associated organizations
- RCA Victor
- Fields of study
- Photo diodes
- Awards
- David Sarnoff Outstanding Technical Achievement Award
Biography
Robert J. McIntyre received a B.S in physics from St. Francis Xavier University, Nova Scotia, in 1950, an M.S. in physics from Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, in 1953, and a Ph.D. from the Robert J. Mcintyre University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va., USA, in 1956.
He then joined the newly formed laboratories of RCA Victor in Montreal (later to become GE Canada and then EG&G Optoelectronics Canada), where he worked in various R&D management positions until his retirement from EG&G in 1993.
Dr. McIntyre was a well known authority on various aspects of photo diodes and, in particular, avalanche photodiodes (APDs). His many contributions to the subject include papers on the excess noise generated in APDs, comparison with photomultiplier tubes, amplitude distribution of gains, properties above the breakdown voltage, applications for x-ray detection, and the use of APDs in photon counting applications.
A final paper, completed just before his death, and now submitted for publication, presents a new approach for considering ionization in semiconductors, which has resulted in a new theory of gain, noise and breakdown probability in short APDs.
In 1979 he was the winner of a David Sarnoff Outstanding Technical Achievement Award for his work on APDs.
McIntyre died on September 16th, 1998.
