Heinz Artur Raether (14 October 1909 — 31 December 1986)[1] 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.
After the development of the transistor, he focused on solid state physics.
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.