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| Supply chain news for the compound semiconductor industry | Supply
chain news for the LED industry and related applications markets |
Application and technology news for general and architectural SSL |
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Setting the GaN LED Invention Record Straight January 16, 2005... The compound semi and SSL industries are collectively pleased that Shuji Nakamura and his former employer, Nichia, have finally settled their blue LED-related patent award dispute. (Ref: our news above, updated from our Jan. 11th breaking news). News of the settlement for $8 million again establishes Shuji as the clear cut Commercial Innovator of GaN LEDs, the focal point for today's solid state lighting industry, and unprecedented technology champion. It was headline news in the major Japanese papers and is evidently causing quite a stir throughout Japan and has all the makings of a precedent-setting case that could have far-reaching ramifications for other Japanese innovators and inventors. But the current coverage is only part of the story. While we here at CompoundSemi Online and various narrowcast print publications have followed the rise of GaN-based LEDs, laser diodes and GaN electronics over the years, one of the best and most complete sources in print remains the 1999 comprehensive book titled We Were Burning, authored by Bob Johnstone. Chapters 9 and 10 of this classic tell the entire tale (Part 1) of Shuji's rise on the scene, building brilliantly on the works of GaN pioneers and blue spectrum LEDs that date back to the 1960s. According to Bob Johnstone's We Were Burning, and our own firsthand interviews with pioneers over the years, the person who indisputably deserves the title of the true "inventor" of the blue LED, however, is Paul Maruska. Paul has shared his histroy in an illuminating A Brief History of GaN Light Emitting Diodes, which has been available to an elite audience over ONR's National Compound Semiconductor Roadmap site for some time. Paul has kindly accepted our invitation to have that pivotal paper made available to a wider audience over our new SolidStateLighting.net industry portal. We highly recommend you read A Brief History of GaN Light Emitting Diodes for yourself (and go ahead and laugh at the cool 1960s pictures of Paul at work at the time at RCA and Stanford. He does!) It's truly an illuminating history. You'll find that the GaN blue LED was actually "invented" 34 years ago. Now that Shuji's case is settled, Bob Johnstone has elected to take on the monumental task of writing a follow-on (Part 2), the working title for which is "BRILLIANT! Shuji Nakamura and the Revolutionary New Lights that are Changing How We See Our World." Many in our industry will be helping Bob pull off this worthy endeavor and we all look forward to seeing it in print, which Bob estimates will take approximately two years to complete. And all of us involved with LIGHTimes will have a ringside seat during the process, because Bob Johnstone has consented to join our staff as a contributing editor and will be reporting his findings throughout the world as he conducts his interviews for "Brilliant!" And speaking of ONR's roadmap... the NCSR site has finally been speeded up and roadmap coordinator Mike Tinston encourages everyone to visit the site and participate in the project. NCSR has a much longer URL now than when it was originally launched, but it's still the same excellent resource with the same outstanding coordinator. So bookmark: http://www.onr.navy.mil/sci_tech/information/312_electronics/ncsr/default.asp and get involved in helping map out the future of the compound semi industry. Return to CompoundSemi Return to SSLnet/LIGHTimes Return to Solid State Lighting Design |
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