Nobel Prize in Physics 2014 awarded to Akasaki, Amano en Nakamura
The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded to three Japanese scientists, Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano & Shuji Nakamura, for the invention of efficient blue LEDs. Blue LED lamps were long considered the missing link in the development of energy efficient white LED lighting. The Nobel Prize will be awarded in Stockholm on 10 December 2014.
FOM workgroup leader Willem Vos (University of Twente) is thrilled about the news: "I had not anticipated this outcome, but it is absolutely deserved: an unexpected gift! It's great that this small team of very motivated and stubborn researchers is rewarded with the prize. For years, they went against the grain; they took the liberty to work on an idea that others did not find promising. The material they worked with was simply not an obvious choice for making efficient LED lamps. Only perfect crystals can produce LED light, and their crystal was initially flawed and lacked the right doping. So it is great to see that their efforts have not only lead to energy efficient lighting, but now also to a Nobel Prize.
I'm glad to see that application-based research is awarded, relatively soon after its discovery. We use this discovery every day: everyone benefits from the work, because it's hanging from the ceiling. Moreover, the impact on society is huge: one fifth of our consumed energy is used for lighting, so the profit of energy efficient light sources is tremendous. LED lights can also be used in places on earth where there barely is any electricity, or where people rely on solar panels alone. This discovery democratizes."
Group leader Jaime Gomez-Rivas (FOM Institute AMOLF and Philips) agrees: "This Nobel Prize is a recognition to the tremendous impact that fundamental research, in this case Material research and Photonics, can have in our society. Blue LEDs are the building blocks of white LEDs, which have given rise to the solid state lighting revolution. Discoveries like the blue led have the potential of revolutionizing full sectors and to have a large and positive fingerprint in the economy and the environment."
More information
- About this subject, as well as the other 2014 Nobel Prizes.
- On Friday 10 October, the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences hosts a Night of the Nobel Prizes, with explanation of the awarded research of this year (Physics, Chemistry and Medicin).
- Read an interview with Nakamura from 2006 here (in Dutch).
- 2015 will be the International Year of Light.