Background Story of the Invention of Efficient InGaN Blue‐Light‐Emitting Diodes (Nobel Lecture)

Abstract

In the 1980s, all known material systems possessing the necessary properties for blue-light emission had shortcomings, thus negating their utilization in efficient LEDs. Gallium nitride (GaN) was one possible candidate, though, at the time, no p-type or active layer could be created. These challenges were ultimately overcome by Shuji Nakamura, who describes the path to the first blue GaN LED in his Nobel Lecture.