Nick Holonyak Explained

Nick Holonyak
Birth Date:3 November 1928
Birth Place:Zeigler, Illinois, U.S.
Death Place:Urbana, Illinois, U.S.
Field:Electrical engineering
Known For:Invention of the GaAs0.60P0.40 visible light diode laser and LED
Alma Mater:University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
BS 1950, MS 1951, PhD 1954
Thesis Title:Effect of Surface Conditions on Characteristics of Rectifier Junctions
Thesis Url:https://vufind.carli.illinois.edu/vf-uiu/Record/uiu_7938465
Thesis Year:1954
Doctoral Advisor:John Bardeen

Nick Holonyak Jr. (; November 3, 1928September 18, 2022) was an American engineer and educator. He is noted particularly for his 1962 invention and first demonstration of a semiconductor laser diode that emitted visible light. This device was the forerunner of the first generation of commercial light-emitting diodes (LEDs). He was then working at a General Electric research laboratory near Syracuse, New York. He left General Electric in 1963 and returned to his alma mater, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he later became John Bardeen Endowed Chair in Electrical and Computer Engineering and Physics.[1] [2]

Early life and career

Nick Holonyak Jr. was born in Zeigler, Illinois, on November 3, 1928.[3] His parents were Rusyn immigrants.[2] [4] His father worked in a coal mine. Holonyak was the first member of his family to receive any type of formal schooling. He once worked 30 straight hours on the Illinois Central Railroad before realizing that a life of hard labor was not what he wanted and he would prefer to go to school instead. According to a Chicago Tribune article in 2003, "The cheap and reliable semiconductor lasers critical to DVD players, bar code readers and scores of other devices owe their existence in some small way to the demanding workload thrust upon Downstate railroad crews decades ago."[5]

Holonyak earned his bachelor's (1950), master's (1951), and doctoral (1954) degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Holonyak was John Bardeen's first doctoral student there. In 1954, Holonyak went to Bell Telephone Laboratories, where he worked on silicon-based electronic devices. From 1955 to 1957 he served with the U.S. Army Signal Corps.

From 1957 to 1963 he was a scientist at the General Electric Company's Advanced Semiconductor Laboratory near Syracuse, New York. Here he invented, fabricated, and demonstrated the first visible light laser diode on October 9, 1962. He grew crystals of the alloy GaAs0.60P0.40; a GaAs laser diode that worked in the infrared had recently been demonstrated by his General Electric colleague Robert N. Hall. The GaAs0.60P0.40 laser diode worked at low temperatures, but the device still functioned as a light-emitting diode at room temperature.[6] The demonstration of red light emission from the diode inspired the article "Light of Hope – or Terror" in Reader's Digest. GaAsP was the material used for the first generation of commercial LEDs that came to market a few years later.[7] [8] [9] [10]

University of Illinois

In 1963, Holonyak became a professor at the University of Illinois.[11] [12] In 1993, he was named the John Bardeen Endowed Chair Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.[13] He investigated methods for manufacturing quantum dot lasers. He and Dr. Milton Feng ran a transistor laser research center at the university funded by $6.5 million from the United States Department of Defense through DARPA. Holonyak retired in 2013.[14]

Ten of his 60 former doctoral students have developed new uses for LED technology at Philips Lumileds Lighting Company in Silicon Valley.[10]

Inventions

In addition to introducing the III-V alloy LED, Holonyak held 41 patents. His other inventions include the red-light semiconductor laser, usually called the laser diode (used in CD and DVD players and cell phones) and the shorted emitter p-n-p-n switch (used in light dimmers and power tools).[15]

In 2006, the American Institute of Physics decided on the five most important papers in each of its journals since it was founded 75 years ago. Two of these five papers, in the journal Applied Physics Letters, were co-authored by Holonyak. The first one, co-authored with S. F. Bevacqua in 1962, announced the creation of the first visible-light laser diode. The second, co-authored primarily with Milton Feng in 2005, announced the creation of a transistor laser that can operate at room temperatures. Holonyak predicted that his LEDs would replace the incandescent light bulb of Thomas Edison in the February 1963 issue of Reader's Digest, and as LEDs improve in quality and efficiency they are gradually replacing incandescents as the bulb of choice.[16]

Awards and honors

Holonyak was presented awards by George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, Emperor Akihito of Japan, and Vladimir Putin.[15] He also received the Global Energy International Prize, the National Medal of Technology, the Order of Lincoln Medallion, and the 2004 Lemelson–MIT Prize, also worth $500,000.[16] Many colleagues expressed their belief that he deserved the Nobel Prize for his invention of the GaAsP laser and LED. On this subject, Holonyak said, "It's ridiculous to think that somebody owes you something. We're lucky to be alive, when it comes down to it."[15] In October 2014, Holonyak reversed his stance by stating "I find this one insulting" in reaction to news that the inventors of the blue LED were awarded the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics, instead of his fellow LED researchers.[17]

Personal life

Holonyak and his wife, Katherine, were married for over 60 years. He died on September 18, 2022, in Urbana, Illinois, at the age of 93.[33]

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Schubert, E. Fred . Light-Emitting Diodes . 2018 . 3 . Cambridge University Press . 2–6 . Another important step in the development of GaAsyP1–y (or simply GaAsP) LEDs occurred in 1962 when Holonyak and Bevacqua (1962) reported on the emission of coherent visible light from GaAsP p-n junctions at low temperatures (77 K) under pulsed current injection. The emission of coherent light was limited to low temperatures. At room temperature, the devices worked as LEDs and emitted incoherent visible red light. The 1962 publication is considered a milestone in the development of pn-junction LEDs made from III–V semiconductors emitting in the visible wavelength range (Holonyak, 1987).. 9780986382666 .
  2. Web site: Nick Holonyak. February 19, 2015. www.aip.org. en. April 6, 2019. September 12, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180912022216/https://www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/30533. live.
  3. Web site: Nick Holonyak . www.pbs.org . September 19, 2022 . May 27, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220527135743/http://www.pbs.org/transistor/album1/addlbios/holonyak.html . live.
  4. Web site: Illinois Distributed Museum – Nick Holonyak, Jr. . IDM . IDM Illinois Distributed Museum . January 17, 2015 . March 17, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150317011452/http://distributedmuseum.blogspot.com/2013/10/nick-holonyak-jr.html . live.
  5. News: Nice Guys Can Finish As Geniuses at University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign . Von . Jon . https://web.archive.org/web/20110516180527/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-96919218.html . dead . May 16, 2011 . Chicago Tribune . January 25, 2003 . January 17, 2015.
  6. Nick . Holonyak Jr. . S. F. . Bevacqua . Applied Physics Letters . Coherent (visible) Light Emission from Ga(As1-xPx) Junctions . December 1, 1962 . 1 . 4 . 82 . 10.1063/1.1753706. 1962ApPhL...1...82H .
  7. News: Harland . Manchester . Reader's Digest . Light of Hope – or Terror . February 1963 . 97 . The latest dramatic laser discoveries, made by General Electric, may someday make the electric light obsolete. If these plans work out, the lamp of the future may be a speck of metal the size of a pencil-point which will be practically indestructible, will never burn out, and will convert at least ten times as much current into light as does today's bulb..
  8. Web site: Nick Holonyak, Jr. – Biography . IEEE . IEEE Global History Network . January 17, 2015 . February 19, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140219033714/http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Nicholas_Holonyak,_Jr. . live.
  9. Web site: Nick Holonyak, Jr., six decades in pursuit of light . May 4, 2012 . Kubetz . Rick . University of Illinois . September 17, 2022 . October 21, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211021084746/https://grainger.illinois.edu/news/stories/2012-05-04-nick-holonyak-jr-six-decades-pursuit-light.
  10. News: U. of I.'s Holonyak out to take some of Edison's luster . Wolinsky . Howard . February 5, 2005 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160225081413/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1562141.html . dead . February 25, 2016 . Chicago Sun-Times . January 17, 2015.
  11. Web site: Holonyak retires after 50 years in ECE . Jonathan . Damery . August 5, 2013 . University of Illinois . January 17, 2015 . February 8, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150208225650/http://www.ece.illinois.edu/newsroom/article/2575 . live.
  12. Web site: Grainger Engineering Office of Marketing and Communications . Illinois faculty, former students honor Nick Holonyak legacy in celebration of his birthday | Holonyak Micro & Nanotechnology Lab | UIUC . Mntl.illinois.edu . December 22, 2018 . September 18, 2022 . April 22, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220422224323/https://mntl.illinois.edu/news/10981 . live.
  13. Web site: Nick Holonyak | Lemelson . Lemelson.mit.edu . November 3, 1928 . September 18, 2022 . January 26, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210126172123/https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/nick-holonyak . live.
  14. Web site: LED inventor retires from U. of Illinois . Pjstar.com . August 7, 2013 . September 19, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220919131040/https://www.pjstar.com/story/news/2013/08/07/led-inventor-retires-from-u/42432906007/ . live.
  15. News: After Glow . Illinois Alumni Magazine . May–June 2007.
  16. News: Nick Holonyak: He Saw The Lights . Port . Otis . Business Week . May 23, 2005 . January 17, 2015 . June 27, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120627002816/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_21/b3934030.htm . dead.
  17. Web site: LED Inventor Insulted, Feels Work Bypassed By Nobel . David . Mercer . Associated Press . October 8, 2014 . Electrical Engineering News and Products . September 18, 2022 . September 19, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220919131044/https://www.eeworldonline.com/led-inventor-insulted-feels-work-bypassed-by-nobel/ . live.
  18. https://www.nae.edu/MembersSection/MemberDirectory/29187.aspx Nick Holonyak was elected in 1973
  19. Web site: 5 Jul 1975, Page 13 – The Edwardsville Intelligencer at . Newspapers.com . July 5, 1975 . September 18, 2022 . September 19, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220919131044/https://www.newspapers.com/image/legacy/26509221/?terms=nick%20Holonyak%20%22%20National%20Academy%20of%20Engineering%22%201973&match=1 . live.
  20. Web site: NAS Member Profile of Nick Holonyak . Nasonline.org . June 10, 2021 . September 18, 2022 . April 7, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220407144708/http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/members/54445.html . live.
  21. Web site: Charles Hard Townes Award . Osa.org . September 18, 2022 . February 1, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150201070852/http://www.osa.org/en-us/awards_and_grants/awards/award_description/charlestownes/ . live.
  22. Web site: Recipient list of NAS Award for the Industrial Application of Science winners.. https://web.archive.org/web/20150108010526/http://www.nasonline.org/about-nas/awards/industrial-application-of-science.html. dead. January 8, 2015.
  23. Web site: Frederic Ives Medal . Osa.org . September 18, 2022 . March 16, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170316150722/http://www.osa.org/en-us/awards_and_grants/awards/award_description/ivesquinn/ . live.
  24. Holonyak to Receive Top IEEE Medal. March 1, 2003. Physics Today. 56. 3. 92. physicstoday.scitation.org (Atypon). 10.1063/1.1570787. 2003PhT....56T..92.. September 18, 2022. September 19, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220919131043/https://physicstoday.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/1.1570787?cookieSet=1. live.
  25. Web site: Laureates by Year . The Lincoln Academy of Illinois. en-US. March 7, 2016. September 23, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150923204516/http://thelincolnacademyofillinois.org/4632-2/#toggle-id-11. live.
  26. News: Illinois physicists produce two most important scientific papers . June 5, 2006 . phys.org .
  27. Web site: Holonyak historical marker unveiled. Grainger Engineering Office of Marketing and. Communications. ece.illinois.edu. September 18, 2022. April 12, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210412123317/https://ece.illinois.edu/newsroom/news/2574. live.
  28. Web site: News Engineering at Illinois University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign . June 10, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200314195955/https://grainger.illinois.edu/news . March 14, 2020 . dead.
  29. Web site: Ainsworth . Susan J. . Pioneers Of Light-Emitting Diodes Honored With 2015 Charles Stark Draper Prize . cen.acs.org . . September 19, 2022 . January 7, 2015 . November 8, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201108110026/https://cen.acs.org/articles/93/web/2015/01/Pioneers-Light-Emitting-Diodes-Honored.html . live.
  30. Web site: Nick Holonyak Jr., Named Honorary Member of The Optical Society Optica . 2024-08-12 . www.optica.org.
  31. Web site: Sommerhof . John . Glen Carbon names first honorary street designation . Thetelegraph.com . July 9, 2018 . September 18, 2022 . July 9, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180709083726/https://www.thetelegraph.com/news/article/Glen-Carbon-names-first-honorary-street-13058860.php . live.
  32. Web site: Touchstone . Liz Ahlberg . Nick Holonyak Jr., pioneer of LED lighting, awarded Queen Elizabeth Prize . news.illinois.edu . February 2, 2021 . February 8, 2021 . February 7, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210207182526/https://news.illinois.edu/view/6367/943749387 . live.
  33. Web site: Nick Holonyak Jr., pioneer of LED lighting, dies. Ahlberg Touchstone. Liz. September 18, 2022. University of Illinois News Bureau. September 18, 2022. September 19, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220919031625/https://news.illinois.edu/view/6367/1920044460. live.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Nick Holonyak".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.