When the history of technological development in the late 20th Century is written, the name of Dr. Isamu Akasaki is sure to figure prominently. Everyone who relies on modern communication technology owes a great debt of gratitude to this elderly Japanese professor, and yet publically, he remains a little-known. But hopefully, that may be about to change thanks to an award honouring Dr. Akasaki’s achievements.
What was Dr. Akasaki’s contribution to our modern world? Simply, he was the man that made the blue LED possible. Thanks in large part to his work, we now have high-speed internet communications, high-density data storage (hence the trade name “Blu-Ray”), and a cornucopia of other technological marvels – not to mention today’s full-colour LED screens.
The Inamori Foundation has announced that Dr. Isamu Akasaki will be awarded the Kyoto Prize in Advanced Technology for 2009. Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, the annual Kyoto Prize is an international award honouring “significant contributions to the scientific, cultural and spiritual betterment of mankind.” The award is presented on November 10 each year in three categories.
Dr. Akasaki, 80, will receive the award for his pioneering work that led to the development of the blue LED. A semiconductor scientist, Dr. Akasaki serves both as a university professor at Nagoya University and professor at Meijo University in Japan.
The story of the development of the blue LED is the real stuff of legend: Once generally regarded as impossible, Dr. Akasaki persisted in his research for decades – long after others had given-up, and was eventually rewarded with success; his GaN-based positive-negative (p-n) junctions, making the blue LED practically possible for the first time. This achievement stimulated research on blue LEDs worldwide, and served as the first step toward their eventual commercialisation in the 1990s.
According to the Kyoto Prize press release, Dr. Akasaki’s pioneering research has not only led to numerous and diverse new applications in electronic equipment, but also offers great promise for protecting the global environment as blue LEDs are adopted for general-purpose lighting with superior energy-conserving qualities.