From semiconductor materials to create breakthroughs for the defense industry

TPO - From his father's small auto repair shop, the young doctor nurtured his passion for technology and then embarked on a path of researching semiconductor materials and infrared sensors. For him, each scientific publication has a special mission to the Fatherland, associated with the responsibility of contributing to Vietnam's defense technology autonomy.

Inspired by Dad's Auto Repair Shop

The opportunity to enter the field of military engineering research of Dr. Nguyen Van Tuan (born in 1990, from Ninh Binh) - lecturer of Physics, Faculty of Chemistry - Technical Physics, Military Technical Academy came from his mischievous childhood at his father's auto repair shop.

His father joined the army at the age of 17 and fought in the fierce Southeast battlefield. In 1974, during a battle, his father was injured. Two years later, he was discharged from the army and returned to his hometown to start a new life. In the difficult post-war years, his mother was attached to agriculture , while his father started out repairing bicycles and gradually switched to repairing motorbikes.

Therefore, when he was young, Mr. Tuan was often taken by his father to play and go to the auto repair shop. For him, the auto repair shop was not only his father’s workplace, but also an interesting “small world ”.

“I like to play around and be curious about technical items or mechanical parts… especially seeing the meticulousness and carefulness that my father puts into each car repair job every day, even though to everyone around me it is just a normal job to make a living. It was those experiences as a child that instilled in me a special love for technology,” Tuan shared.

Dr. Nguyen Van Tuan is a lecturer in the Department of Physics, Faculty of Chemistry - Technical Physics, Military Technical Academy.

Later, when his family encountered a crisis, his mother advised and guided him to take the military school entrance exam with the belief that it was the place to fully pursue his passion for engineering. When he passed the entrance exam to the Military Technical Academy, he felt like he had wings to fly further in the world of knowledge.

“If in the early days of entering the army, my dream was simply to study, do engineering and have a stable career, then after experiencing, learning and maturing in the university environment, my aspirations have changed.

I aspire to become a lecturer, a scientist, to satisfy my curiosity and meticulousness through scientific research and to impart knowledge to the next generation. At the same time, this path also allows me to develop my passion for technology by researching, creating and developing useful products that exist in life, especially in advanced fields such as military technology," said the young doctor.

In addition, the military environment with its discipline, seriousness and orientation to directly serve the national defense and security mission is also a special catalyst for young doctors. Each research topic and each teaching hour is not only of academic significance, but also associated with a noble responsibility to the country.





The young doctor in the research room always has the lights on.

“Enriching” new research results

For Dr. Tuan, each research project is a memorable experience, because to create a scientific result that can be published, the researcher must simultaneously meet many strict criteria.

In the field of experimental science, repeatability is always considered the most important and this has left him with a profound experience in the process of researching InSb material films - a semiconductor material.

Sharing about that process, Mr. Tuan said that the initial results were consistent with the predictions after synthesizing reference documents. However, during the second batch of sample production, an unexpected incident occurred, causing the vacuum pump system to be sent to Germany for repair, which took more than two months to complete.

When the system came back online, he had to start making the samples again, but it wasn't until the fifth or sixth set of samples that the results were reproducible.

“This experience is a great lesson, showing me that scientific research is not just about numbers or simulations on a desk, nor is it as simple as a mouse click. Behind each result are countless hours of searching for documents, testing, standing by the equipment, measuring, analyzing, and especially critical thinking to find the cause, correct errors if there are too many and enrich new research results, especially those that were not known before,” Dr. Tuan shared.

Dr. Nguyen Van Tuan is one of the 10 outstanding young faces of the capital.

For the young doctor, the research cluster on InSb material is the most important and memorable milestone in the scientific journey. InSb material plays a key role in manufacturing infrared sensors. This is an important component of modern optoelectronic systems. In the world, infrared technology is always considered the top strategic field in the electromagnetic warfare spectrum.

Defense powers are constantly investing resources in research, materials manufacturing, sensor manufacturing technology development and perfecting integrated solutions to maintain and increase military advantages.

The superior features of sensors directly determine combat effectiveness, therefore, high-performance infrared sensors, especially when integrated into smart weapons, are strictly managed in terms of export and technology transfer.

In Vietnam, although in recent years there have been certain achievements in the research, design and manufacture of optoelectronic systems, infrared sensitive elements still depend on imports. This poses a major challenge in the context of military modernization towards “refined, compact, strong”, when the requirement for autonomy in technology and strategic components is becoming increasingly urgent.

“Mastering infrared sensor manufacturing technology not only helps save costs and reduce external dependence, but more importantly, it also opens up the possibility of improving defense capacity, ensuring national security and creating a breakthrough for the country's defense industry,” Dr. Tuan shared.

Dr. Nguyen Van Tuan has 1 patent for invention, utility solution, 18 scientific articles published in international scientific journals. Of which, 14 articles are in category Q1 (4 articles are main authors), 4 articles are in category Q2 (1 article is main author). 9 scientific articles have been published in domestic scientific journals (4 articles are main authors).

Source: https://tienphong.vn/bai-4-tu-vat-lieu-ban-dan-tao-buoc-dot-pha-cho-nganh-cong-nghiep-quoc-phong-post1786547.tpo