Nobel Prize winner receives further award for breakthrough work on InGaN LED

In recognition for his work on LEDs, Shuji Nakamura has been chosen as a 2015 Global Energy Prize Laureate. The Russian award 'honours outstanding achievements in energy research and technology from around the world that are helping address the world's various and pressing energy challenges.'

"I am so pleased that the Global Energy Prize committee has recognised my breakthrough work on InGaN LEDs, which has led to energy-efficient white LED lighting," said Nakamura, who was one of three 2014 Nobel Prize winners in physics for the invention of the bright blue LED.

Now a professor of materials and of electrical and computer engineering at University of California - Santa Barbara, US, Nakamura is also the co-director of the campus's Solid State Lighting & Energy Electronics Center (SSLEEC), where his research focuses on growth and device fabrication of light-emitters based on GaN.

"The Solid State Lighting and Energy Electronics Centre is so pleased that LED lighting is saving the world billions in energy costs and with further potential to bring cost-effective lighting to the developing world," said Steve DenBaars, professor of materials and SSLEEC co-director.

This award is the latest in a stream of honours for Nakamura, including the Nishina Memorial Award (1996), the Materials Research Society Medal (1997), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' Jack A. Morton Award, the British Rank Prize (1998), the Benjamin Franklin Medal (2002), the Millennium Technology Prize (2006), the Czochralski Award (2007), the Prince of Asturias Award for Technical Scientific Research (2008), The Harvey Award (2009), the Technology and the Engineering Emmy Award (2011), the LED Pioneer Award (2012), the Nobel Prize in Physics (2014), Japan's Order of Culture Medal (2014) and the Charles Stark Draper Prize (2015).

Nakamura joins 31 Energy Prize laureates from ten countries. Winners have included scientists such as Arthur Rosenfeld (USA), awarded for his pioneering work in energy-efficient buildings; Akira Yoshino (Japan), recognised for the invention of lithium ion batteries; and Thorsteinn Ingi Sigfusson (Iceland); honoured for developing hydrogen into a viable alternative power source in Iceland. Nakamura will receive his award at the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 19, 2015. 

AngelTech Live III: Join us on 12 April 2021!

AngelTech Live III will be broadcast on 12 April 2021, 10am BST, rebroadcast on 14 April (10am CTT) and 16 April (10am PST) and will feature online versions of the market-leading physical events: CS International and PIC International PLUS a brand new Silicon Semiconductor International Track!

Thanks to the great diversity of the semiconductor industry, we are always chasing new markets and developing a range of exciting technologies.

2021 is no different. Over the last few months interest in deep-UV LEDs has rocketed, due to its capability to disinfect and sanitise areas and combat Covid-19. We shall consider a roadmap for this device, along with technologies for boosting its output.

We shall also look at microLEDs, a display with many wonderful attributes, identifying processes for handling the mass transfer of tiny emitters that hold the key to commercialisation of this technology.

We shall also discuss electrification of transportation, underpinned by wide bandgap power electronics and supported by blue lasers that are ideal for processing copper.

Additional areas we will cover include the development of GaN ICs, to improve the reach of power electronics; the great strides that have been made with gallium oxide; and a look at new materials, such as cubic GaN and AlScN.

Having attracted 1500 delegates over the last 2 online summits, the 3rd event promises to be even bigger and better – with 3 interactive sessions over 1 day and will once again prove to be a key event across the semiconductor and photonic integrated circuits calendar.

So make sure you sign up today and discover the latest cutting edge developments across the compound semiconductor and integrated photonics value chain.

REGISTER FOR FREE

VIEW SESSIONS