The Department for Nonlinear Dynamics of Electronic Systems (#17) was officially established on February 18, 1992 by the decision of the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR. The Department was created in 1989 on the initiative of Doctor of Sciences K. A. Lukin, with the active and substantial support of academician V. P. Shestopalov, who was then the director of IRE, as well as the deputy director of academician V. M. Yakovenko and the first director of IRE academician O. Ya. Usikov, after whose our Institute named today. These were the time of changes, so-called “Perestroika” of the USSR, and by 1989, the ideas of democratization penetrated into all spheres of the country’s life, and, in particular, into the process of selecting managers at various levels. Namely, it became typical not to appoint, but to elect leaders, regardless of their party affiliation. A competition was organized at the institute in connection with the filling of the vacant position of scientific supervisor of the State Research Project which became vacant in May 1989 after the unexpected death of prof. M. S. Zinchenko, head of the Electronic Optics Department. Three IRE scientists took part in this competition. After the applicants presented their scientific programs and discussed them, the scientific council of IRE gave preference to K.O. Lukin – at that time still a young, non-party Doctor of Sciences, who, however, already had the experience of leading a scientific research group, having worked for the past 12 years in the Department of Diffraction Theory and Diffraction Electronics, which at that time was headed by Academician V.P. Shestopalov.

The material base for the Department #17 was the laboratory rooms and some part of the equipment of the former Department of Electron Optics. The scientific team of the Department #17 was formed partly from some researchers of Prof. M. S. Zinchenko’s Department, and the research group from the Department of Diffraction Theory and Diffraction Electronics, which carried out scientific research under the leadership of K. O. Lukin in the field of the theory of nonlinear non-stationary processes in the generators of diffraction radiation (GDR) and other vacuum mm range devices. In addition, experimental studies of chaotic self-oscillations in generators based on the backward wave (BWT) lamp and the development of self-generators of chaotic oscillations, which were carried out jointly by K. O. Lukin and V. O. Rakityanskyi at the experimental base of the SDTB IRE Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, made the necessary scientific addition.

Academician O. Ya. Usikov expressed his wish for the future head of the Department #17 to preserve and develop the achievements of IRE in the field of high-permeability electronic optics. We tried to do this, continuing the work started by Prof. M. S. Zinchenko research, as well as using new methods of designing powerful electronic guns and looking for new areas of their application.

Back in 1955-1989 under the leadership of prof. M. S. Zinchenko, various experimental and theoretical studies in the field of electronic optics was carried out at IRE. In particular, the theory of electron-optical systems with longitudinal compression was developed and a whole series of three-electrode guns with output power from units of milliwatts to hundreds of kilowatts in continuous operation was manufactured. These guns made it possible to effectively and independently manage the energy and density of the electron flow with very little expenditure of control power. They are widely used in the development of such technological processes as vacuum melting, deposition and welding of metals everywhere, including cosmic space (in collaboration with the Paton Institute of Electric Welding, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine), the separation of isotopes, as well as creation of controlled sources of soft X-rays.

Many researchers who had started to work in the Department of Electron Optics, had got their PhD degrees and continue to work successfully in the different departments of the Institute and other scientific organizations of  Kharkiv now. One of them, PhD A. S. Tishchenko, became the Head of Department of Vacuum Electronics (Department #16, IRE NASU).

The creation and first years of the Department existence occurred on 1990-s, when the economic situation in the Soviet Union became worse and worse, and, finally, the Soviet Union 1992 collapsed like unified State. This had negative effects for funding of fundamental and applied science in Ukraine. Many developments were not demanded even there were ideas not only neither create new departments and laboratories nor develop new research areas, but reduce old ones as well. Under these difficult economic conditions, we managed not only to maintain the newly-created research department, but also to develop successfully the new research directions in the field of radiophysics and electronics. In some areas like Modern Noise Radar we got a leading position in the world. All of then had been able to do thanks our active international cooperation, which had been realized only after Ukraine became as independent State.

Professor K. A. Lukin tells President of NASU B. E. Paton about Noise Radar Systems (2005)	“The 50 years of Noise Radar”. K. A. Lukin report at the conference in the I. Kozhedub Kharkiv Air Force University (2013)

Thus, a new Department appeared in the structure of IRE with the actual area of research in the field of nonlinear dynamics and dynamical chaos in active and passive systems of millimeter, microwave (MW) and radio wavebands of electromagnetic radiation appeared in the IRE NASU. Under new circumstances in addition to studying fundamental properties of dynamic chaos the practical using of this phenomenon became very actual, i.e. search of possible applications, useful for solving important scientific and technical problems

In the following years, we managed not only to maintain the focus of research, but also to expand the areas of application of the obtained results, specifying and deepening certain directions, in particular, remote sensing and diagnostics of engineering structures using Ground Noise Synthesized Aperture Radar (SAR), or more precisely – differential SAR interferometry. In addition, a new direction in radiometry in the MM wavelength range is proposed: formation of coherent radiometric images in the “range-azimuth” plane using interferometer geometry and synthesis of the antennas patterns when the range does not exceed the base of this radiometer.

A new direction in radar is under intense development – Software Defined Radar, based on the use of digital signal generation and processing in FPGA, which does not require changing the hardware part of the radar when the type of sounding signal is changed. Previously proposed by K.O. Lukin’s method of solving problems with nonlinear boundary conditions, made it possible to develop a new direction in the physics of semiconductor devices with avalanche multiplication of charge carriers and to propose an Avalanche Generator Diode (LGD), a promising generator of the microwave and Terahertz ranges.

Currently, the topics of modern research of Department #17 have significantly expanded.

Now it’s:

• Dynamic chaos in microwave resonators with non-integrated boundaries and/or nonlinear reflecting surfaces;
• Chaotic and regular dynamics of charge carriers in semiconductor multilayer structures with impact ionization (avalanche multiplication of charges);
• New current instabilities in reverse-biased multilayer semiconductor structures for generation of periodic and random oscillations in the microwave and terahertz frequency ranges;
• Digital generation and coherent processing of random signals in real time. Development of FPGA-based signal processors for Noise Radar Sensors and microwave “video cameras”;
• New antennas with pattern synthesis;
• Noise Radar Systems;
• SAR tomography; radiometric imaging using on Ground Noise SAR hardware;
• Development of methods and systems for forming and processing SAR images;
• Optical noise reflectometers based on LED sources of random optical radiation and spectral interferometry methods for measuring micro- and nano-distances;
• New methods of wireless vehicle communication, e.g. communication between cars on autobahns;
• New methods in quantum theory and modeling of “Quantum Radars”;
• Microwave and THz vacuum electronics;
• New methods in modern relativistic theory.

Currently, there are 16 Staff members in the Department for Nonlinear Dynamics of Electronic Systems: 1 Professor, DSc, PhD. (K. O. Lukin), , 1 Senior Research Fellow DSc, PhD. (O. J. Nurmagambetov); 5 Senior Research Fellow, Ph.D. (P.P. Maksymov, L.V. Yurchenko, O.V. Zemlianiy, D.M. Tatyanko, V. E. Kudryashov,); 1 Researcher, Ph.D (S. S. Ponomarenko), 2 Junior Researcher (Yu. A. Shiyan, A. O. Shelekhov), 1 Chief Engineer of the Department (V. P. Palamarchuk), 3 Leading Engineers (M. K. Zaets, V. E. Shcherbakov, V. M. Konovalov), 1 Engineer (P. G. Sushchenko), and 1 Laboratory assistant (S. P. Pyrozhenko).

The Staff of Department #17 – left to right – standing: P. P. Maximov, O. V. Zemlyaniy, L. V. Yurchenko, K. O. Lukin, M. K. Zaets, V. P. Palamarchuk, P. G. Suschenko, V. E. Scherbakov, A. O. Shelehov, V. M. Konovalov; sitting: O. A. Mischenko, D. M. Tatyanko, Yu. A. Shiyan, N. S. Fedoseeva (2015)

At various times the following employees were among the staff of the Department #17 and took an active part in actual research: Senior Research Fellow, DSc, PhD: V. B. Yurchenko and S. P. Leshchenko; Senior Research Fellow, PhD: A. A. Mogyla, V. M. Kantsedal, V. M. Bolotov and V. O. Rakityansky; Research Fellow, PhD: P. L. Vyplavin, V. V. Kudryashov, V. I. Afanasyev, V. V. Kulyk, V. С. Korostylev and A .B. Lebedev; Junior Research Fellow S. K. Lukin and A. V. Sugak; Leading Engineer: Yu. O. Оleksandrov, V. L. Virchenko, P. M. Torchun, A. I. Karpov, T. Yu. Yatsenko and A. S. Bogach; Engineer: O. A. Mishchenko, A. B. Pikh, N. S. Fedoseeva , D. Yu. Suprun, S. M. Yarovoj, O. V. Melnikova, O. A. Kamensky, D. O. Royenko, V. E. Korzh, V. V. Tarasenko, N. P. Kovalenko, R. P. Kovalenko, T. K. Lukina, E. V. Yurchenko, A. E. Gorobets, G. S. Bezrodnaya, L. I. Kirichenko, T. Yu. Latinskaya, М. А. Тopchiy, R. I. Cechmistro, Z. F .Sviridova; Laboratory assistants: K. S. Svichko, Y. R. Chistyakov; Locksmith of higher category: S. M. Ryzhenko, M. I. Semenyak.

Many specialists, who received qualifications in the Department #17, successfully continue their scientific activities in a number of countries of the European Union and the USA (V. V. Kudryashov, S. K. Lukin, V. O. Rakityanskyi, O. V. Melnikova , A. E. Horobets, O. P. Kotenkov), private firms (P. L. Vyplavin), in other scientific Departments of the O. Ya. Usykov IRE NAS of Ukraine (A. A. Mohyla, T. Yu. Yatsenko) and Kharkiv universities (L. I. Kirichenko, R. I. Tsekhmistro).