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Shuji Nakamura

Shuji Nakamura (中村 修二, Nakamura Shūji, born May 22, 1954) is a Japanese-American electronic engineer and inventor of the blue LED, a major breakthrough in lighting technology.[5] Nakamura specializes in the field of semiconductor technology, and he is a professor of materials science at the College of Engineering of the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB).[6]

Shuji Nakamura
FREng
中村修二
Nakamura in 2014
Born (1954-05-22) 22 May 1954 (age 70)
Ikata, Ehime, Japan
NationalityAmerican[3][4]
CitizenshipJapan (until 2005)
United States (since 2005)[1][2]
Alma materUniversity of Tokushima
Known forBlue and white LEDs
AwardsMillennium Technology Prize (2006)
Harvey Prize (2009)
Nobel Prize in Physics (2014)
Global Energy Prize (2015)
National Inventors Hall of Fame (2015)
Mountbatten Medal (2017)
Zayed Future Energy Prize (2018)
Scientific career
FieldsElectronics engineering
InstitutionsUniversity of California, Santa Barbara

Together with Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano, Nakamura received the 2014 Nobel Prize for Physics "for the invention of efficient blue light-emitting diodes, which has enabled bright and energy-saving white light sources". In 2015, his input into the commercialization and development of energy-efficient white LED lighting technology was recognized by the Global Energy Prize. In 2021, Nakamura, along with Akasaki, Nick Holonyak, M. George Craford, and Russell D. Dupuis, were awarded the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering "for the creation and development of LED lighting, which forms the basis of all solid-state lighting technology".[7]

Career

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Nakamura graduated from the University of Tokushima in 1977 with a B.Eng. degree in electronic engineering, and obtained an M.Eng. degree in the same subject two years later, after which he joined the Nichia Corporation, also based in Tokushima. It was while working for Nichia that Nakamura invented the method for producing the first commercial high brightness gallium nitride (GaN) LED whose brilliant blue light, when partially converted to yellow by a phosphor coating, is the key to white LED lighting, which went into production in 1993.

Previously, J. I. Pankove and co-workers at RCA put in considerable effort but did not make a marketable GaN LED in the 1960s. The principal problem was the difficulty of making strongly p-type GaN.[8] Nakamura drew on the work of another Japanese group led by Professor Isamu Akasaki, who published their method to make strongly p-type GaN by electron-beam irradiation of magnesium-doped GaN; however, this method was not suitable for mass production. Nakamura developed a thermal annealing method much more suitable for mass production.[9] In addition, he and his co-workers worked out the physics and pointed out the culprit was hydrogen, which passivated acceptors in GaN.[10]

At the time, many considered creating a GaN LED too difficult to produce; therefore, Nakamura was fortunate that the founder of Nichia, Nobuo Ogawa [ja] (1912–2002), was willing to support and fund his GaN project.[11][12] However, the senior Ogawa ceded the presidency to his son-in-law Eiji Ogawa (in 1989). The company under Eiji's direction ordered him to suspend work on GaN, claiming it was consuming too much time and money.[13][14] Nakamura continued to develop the blue LED on his own and in 1993 succeeded in making the device.[15][14]

Despite these circumstances, once Nakamura succeeded in creating a commercially viable prototype, 3 orders of magnitude (1000 times) brighter than previously successful blue LEDs, Nichia pursued developing the marketable product.[11][16] The company's gross receipt surged from just over ¥20 billion (≈US$200 million) in 1993 to ¥80 billion (≈US$800 million) by 2001, 60 percent of which was accounted for by sales of blue LED products.[14] The company's workforce doubled between 1994 and 1999 from 640 to 1300 employees.[17]

Nakamura was awarded a D.Eng. degree from the University of Tokushima in 1994. He left Nichia Corporation in 1999 and took a position as a professor of engineering at UCSB.

In 2001, Nakamura sued his former employer Nichia over his bonus for the discovery as a part of a series of lawsuits between Nichia and Nakamura with Nichia's US competitor Cree Inc.; they agreed in 2000 to jointly sue Nichia at the expense of Cree and Nakamura received stock options from Cree. Nakamura claimed that he received only ¥20,000 (≈US$180) for his discovery of "404 patent," though Nichia's president Eiji Ogawa's side of the story was that he was shocked beyond belief that the court would award Nakamura ¥20 billion, and downplaying the significance of the "404 patent," opined that the company had adequately compensated him for the innovation through promotions and bonuses amounting to ¥62 million over 11 years and annual salary which was raised to ¥20 million by the time Nakamura quit Nichia.[18]

Nakamura sued for ¥2 billion (<US$20 million) as his fair share for the invention, and the district court awarded him ten times the amount, ¥20 billion (<US$200 million). However, Nichia appealed the award and the parties settled in 2005 for ¥840 million (≈US$8.1 million, less than 5% of the award amount), which was still the largest payment ever paid by a Japanese company to an employee for an invention,[19][20] an amount only enough to cover legal expenses incurred by Nakamura.[21]

Nakamura has also worked on green LEDs and is responsible for creating the white LED and blue laser diodes used in Blu-ray Discs and HD DVDs.[22]

Nakamura is a professor of Materials at the UCSB.[23] In 2008, Nakamura, along with fellow UCSB professors Dr. Steven P. DenBaars and Dr. James Speck, founded Soraa, a developer of solid-state lighting technology built on pure gallium nitride substrates.[24] Nakamura holds 208 US utility patents as of 5 May 2020.[25]

In November 2022, Nakamura co-founded Blue Laser Fusion, a commercial fusion company, with Hiroaki Ohta, a former president of Tokyo-based drone maker ACSL.[26] In July 2023, Blue Laser Fusion raised $25 million from venture capital firm JAFCO Group and the Mirai Creation Fund, which is backed by Toyota Motor and other investors and managed by the SPARX Group.[26]

Personal life

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Nakamura is married to Yuki Nakamura.[27]

Awards and honors

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See also

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References

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Citations
  1. ^ 特許は会社のもの「猛反対」 ノーベル賞の中村修二さん [Patent belongs to the company "Violent opposition" Nobel prize winner Shuji Nakamura] (in Japanese). Asahi Shimbun Digital. 18 October 2014. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  2. ^ "Nōberu shō no Nakamura Shūji-shi, Amerika no shiminken wo totta riyū wo kataru" ノーベル賞の中村修二氏、「アメリカの市民権」を取った理由を語る [Nobel prize (recipient) Mr. Shuji Nakamura talks about the reasons for obtaining American citizenship] (in Japanese). withnews. 18 October 2014. ２００５、６年ごろに（米国市民権を）取ったんですよ [acquired (U.S. citizenship) in 2005 or 2006]
  3. ^ "中村教授「物理学賞での受賞には驚いた」 ノーベル賞". The Nikkei. Nikkei Inc. October 2014.
  4. ^ Shuji received American citizenship in 2000. Japan does not recognize dual nationality.
  5. ^ "Nobel laureate fought the odds to make history". Pacific Coast Business Times. 10 October 2014. Retrieved Oct 10, 2014.
  6. ^ "Shuji Nakamura". Santa Barbara: University of California. Archived from the original on July 15, 2010. Retrieved July 31, 2008.
  7. ^ "LED Lighting | Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering".
  8. ^ Johnstone (2007), pp. 90–93.
  9. ^ Johnstone (2007), p. 114.
  10. ^ Johnstone (2007), pp. 114, 116.
  11. ^ a b Normile, Dennis (21 March 1997). "Staying Off Beaten Track Puts LED Researcher a Step Ahead". Science. New Series. 275 (5307): 1734–1735. doi:10.1126/science.275.5307.1734. JSTOR 2892683. S2CID 108593732.
  12. ^ Johnstone (2007), p. 68.
  13. ^ Johnstone (2007), pp. 103–104.
  14. ^ a b c "Court dismisses inventor's patent claim but will consider reward". The Japan Times. September 20, 2002. Archived from the original on October 8, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  15. ^ Johnstone (2007), pp. 112–120.
  16. ^ Johnstone (2007), pp. 120–121.
  17. ^ Johnstone (2007), p. 122.
  18. ^ "Nichia kagaku kōgyō no Ogawa Eiji shi: soshō sōdō no shinjitsu wo ima koso akiraka ni suru" 日亜化学工業社長の小川英治氏 訴訟騒動の真実を今こそ明らかにする [Nichia president Eiji Ogawa [says] I am now going to clarify the truth behind the lawsuit] (in Japanese). Nikkei Tech-on. April 2004. Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  19. ^ Zaun, Todd (January 12, 2005). "Japanese Company to Pay Ex-Employee $8.1 Million for Invention". The New York Times. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  20. ^ Johnstone (2007), pp. 233–237.
  21. ^ Robert Matthews. (3 April 2007). "Book Review: The man who had the world's brightest idea". Financial Times. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  22. ^ Richard Harris (June 15, 2006). "Work in Colored Lights Nets Millennium Prize". All Things Considered.
  23. ^ "Shuji Nakamura". Solid State Lighting & Energy Center. Archived from the original on May 28, 2013. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  24. ^ "About". Soraa Inc. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  25. ^ "Patents of Shuji Nakamura". Archived from the original on 2021-04-02. Retrieved 2020-05-03.
  26. ^ a b "Nuclear fusion race draws in Nobel-winning LED pioneer". NIKKEI Asia. July 23, 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  27. ^ "Japanese Nobel physics laureate Shuji Nakamura and his spouse Yuki..." Getty Images. 2014-12-11. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
  28. ^ "Winner 2006 - Shuji Nakamura, Blue and white LEDs". Technology Academy Finland. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  29. ^ "Top prize for 'light' inventor". BBC News. September 8, 2006. Archived from the original on March 5, 2007. Retrieved 2006-09-08.
  30. ^ Office, European Patent. "Shuji Nakamura (Japan)". www.epo.org.
  31. ^ Prince of Asturias Awards for Technical and Scientific Research[permanent dead link‍].
  32. ^ "Prince of Asturias Award for Technical & Scientific Research 2008". Fundación Princesa de Asturias. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  33. ^ "Harvey Prize". Archived from the original on July 27, 2011.
  34. ^ "SVIPLA Presents Inventor of the Year - Shuji Nakamura, Ph.D." Silicon Valley Intellectual Property Law Association. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  35. ^ "The 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics - Press Release". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  36. ^ "Laureates". globalenergyprize.org.
  37. ^ "Chanda Kochhar among three Indians get Asia Game Changer awards". The Economic Times. September 16, 2015. Archived from the original on September 21, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  38. ^ "The Winners at The Asian Awards 2016". Asian Wealth Magazine. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
  39. ^ "Mountbatten Medal – 2017 Winner". Institution of Engineering and Technology. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
  40. ^ Sankar, Anjana. "Top Zayed Energy prize awarded to LED light inventor". www.khaleejtimes.com. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  41. ^ "LED Lighting Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering". Queen Elizabeth Prize. 13 December 2021.
  42. ^ "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement.
Bibliography

Further reading

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  • Shuji Nakamura, Gerhard Fasol, Stephen J. Pearton, The Blue Laser Diode : The Complete Story, Springer; 2nd edition, October 2, 2000, (ISBN 3-540-66505-6)
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Preceded by Millennium Technology Prize winner
2006 (for blue and white LEDs) 		Succeeded by
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