News

11 November 2009

 

Blue LED pioneer Akasaki receives Kyoto Prize

This week in Kyoto, the Inamori Foundation is presenting its 25th annual Kyoto Prize to four recipients, including Dr Isamu Akasaki in the category ‘Advanced Technology’ (which this year focuses on electronics). Akasaki (a professor at both Nagoya University and Meijo University in Japan) receives the award for pioneering work that led to the development of the blue LED.

The Kyoto Prize is Japan’s highest private award for global achievement, honoring contributions to the scientific, cultural and spiritual betterment of humankind. Laureates received a diploma, a 20-karat-gold Kyoto Prize medal, and a cash gift of 50m yen (US$550,000) per prize category.

After decades of research on gallium nitride, Akasaki created GaN-based positive-negative (p-n) junctions, making the blue LED practically possible. This stimulated research on blue LEDs worldwide, and served as the first step toward their eventual commercialization in the 1990s.

Applications now include displays for mobile electronic devices; large outdoor display equipment and signage; railway and road traffic signals; and vehicle lamps. Also, with the advent of blue semiconductor lasers, the capacity of optical recording media such as Blu-ray discs has been increased.

The award citation also says that Akasaki’s research has not only led to diverse new applications in electronic equipment but also offers promise for protecting the global environment as blue LEDs are adopted for energy-conserving general-purpose lighting.

The 2009 laureates will reconvene on 20-22 April 2010 for the ninth annual Kyoto Prize Symposium at San Diego State University; University of California, San Diego; and University of San Diego.

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Visit: www.kyotoprize.org