Isamu Akasaki | |
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赤崎 勇 | |
Born | |
Died | April 1, 2021 | (aged 92)
Nationality | Japanese |
Alma mater | Kyoto University Nagoya University |
Awards | Asahi Prize (2001) Takeda Award (2002) Kyoto Prize (2009) IEEE Edison Medal (2011) Nobel Prize in Physics (2014) Charles Stark Draper Prize (2015) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Physics, Engineering |
Institutions | Meijo University Nagoya University |
Isamu Akasaki (赤崎 勇, Akasaki Isamu, January 30, 1929 – April 1, 2021) was a Japanese engineer and physicist. He was best known for inventing the bright gallium nitride (GaN) p-n junction blue LED in 1989.[1][2][3][4]
Akasaki was awarded the Kyoto Prize in Advanced Technology in 2009.[5] He was also awarded the 2014 Nobel prize in Physics with Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura[6] "for the invention of efficient blue light-emitting diodes, which has enabled bright and energy-saving white light sources".
Akasaki died on April 1, 2021 at his home in Nagoya, Japan from pneumonia, aged 92.[7]