The Nobel Prize in Physics 2014
Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano, Shuji Nakamura
The Nobel Prize in Physics 2014 was awarded jointly to Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura "for the invention of efficient blue light-emitting diodes which has enabled bright and energy-saving white light sources".
The Nobel Prize in Physics 2014
Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano, Shuji Nakamura
Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano, Shuji Nakamura
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Press Release
7 October 2014
The
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Physics for 2014 to
Isamu Akasaki
Meijo University, Nagoya, Japan and Nagoya University, Japan
Hiroshi Amano
Nagoya University, Japan
and
Shuji Nakamura
University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
“for the invention of efficient blue light-emitting diodes which has enabled bright and energy-saving white light sources”
New light to illuminate the world
This year’s Nobel Laureates are rewarded for having
invented a new energy-efficient and environment-friendly light source –
the blue light-emitting diode (LED). In the spirit of Alfred Nobel the
Prize rewards an invention of greatest benefit to mankind; using blue
LEDs, white light can be created in a new way. With the advent of LED
lamps we now have more long-lasting and more efficient alternatives to
older light sources.
When Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura
produced bright blue light beams from their semi-conductors in the
early 1990s, they triggered a funda-mental transformation of lighting
technology. Red and green diodes had been around for a long time but
without blue light, white lamps could not be created. Despite
considerable efforts, both in the scientific community and in industry,
the blue LED had remained a challenge for three decades.
They succeeded where everyone else had failed. Akasaki worked
together with Amano at the University of Nagoya, while Nakamura was
employed at Nichia Chemicals, a small company in Tokushima. Their
inventions were revolutionary. Incandescent light bulbs lit the 20th
century; the 21st century will be lit by LED lamps.
White LED lamps emit a bright white light, are long-lasting and
energy-efficient. They are constantly improved, getting more efficient
with higher luminous flux (measured in lumen) per unit electrical input
power (measured in watt). The most recent record is just over 300 lm/W,
which can be compared to 16 for regular light bulbs and close to 70 for
fluorescent lamps. As about one fourth of world electricity consumption
is used for lighting purposes, the LEDs contribute to saving the Earth’s
resources. Materials consumption is also diminished as LEDs last up to
100,000 hours, compared to 1,000 for incandescent bulbs and 10,000 hours
for fluorescent lights.
The LED lamp holds great promise for increasing the quality of life
for over 1.5 billion people around the world who lack access to
electricity grids: due to low power requirements it can be powered by
cheap local solar power.
The invention of the blue LED is just twenty years old, but it has
already contributed to create white light in an entirely new manner to
the benefit of us all.
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Isamu Akasaki,, Japanese citizen. Born 1929 in
Chiran, Japan. Ph.D. 1964 from Nagoya University, Japan. Professor at
Meijo University, Nagoya, and Distinguished Professor at Nagoya
University, Japan.
Hiroshi Amano,, Japanese citizen. Born 1960 in
Hamamatsu, Japan. Ph.D. 1989 from Nagoya University, Japan. Professor at
Nagoya University, Japan.
Shuji Nakamura, American citizen. Born 1954 in
Ikata, Japan. Ph.D. 1994 from University of Tokushima, Japan. Professor
at University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
Prize amount: SEK 8 million, to be shared equally between the Laureates.
Contact persons: Jessica Balksjö Nannini, Press Officer, Phone +46 8 673 95 44, +46 70 673 96 50, jessica.balksjo@kva.se
Olle Inganäs, member of the Nobel Committee for Physics, +46 13 28 12 31, ois@ifm.liu.se
Nobel Prize® är is a registered trademark of the Nobel Foundation.
This year marks the 275th anniversary of The Royal
Swedish Academy of Sciences. The Academy was founded in 1739 and is an
independent organization whose overall objective is to promote the
sciences and strengthen their influence in society. The Academy takes
special responsibility for the natural sciences and mathematics, but
endeavours to promote the exchange of ideas between various disciplines.
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