The blue light-emitting diode (LED), researched and developed by the late Distinguished Professor Isamu Akasaki and Takuetsu Distinguished Professor Hiroshi Amano of the Institute of Materials and Systems for Sustainability, has been recognized as an IEEE Milestone by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
The IEEE Milestones were established in 1983, one year ahead of the IEEE’s 100th anniversary, as a system for recognizing historical achievements in the field of electrical and electronics engineering—a field that has seen a high number of innovative breakthroughs. The achievement must have had a significant impact on the development of society or industry, and a minimum of 25 years must have elapsed before an achievement can be recognized as a milestone.
While red and yellow-green LEDs were developed in the 1960s, researchers had trouble developing blue LEDs due to the difficulty of producing suitable materials. In the 1980s, many researchers gave up on the task, believing that such an achievement would be impossible in the 20th century. However, Professor Akasaki and Professor Amano, conducting research at Nagoya University, successfully produced high-quality gallium nitride (GaN) monocrystals in 1985 and p-type GaN in 1989. Blue LEDs are currently used in lighting, screens, and Blu-ray Discs. In 2014, Professor Akasaki, Professor Amano, and Professor Shuji Nakamura (University of California, Santa Barbara) were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics “for the invention of efficient blue light-emitting diodes which has enabled bright and energy-saving white light sources.”
