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2016 Distinguished Lecture Series in Physics - Public Lecture

Shuji Nakamura, Ph.D.
2014 Nobel Laureate in Physics
University of California, Santa Barbara

"The Invention of High Efficient Blue LEDs and Future Lighting"

In the 1970s and 80s, a lack of suitable materials left efficient blue and green light-emitting diodes (LED) as the last missing elements for solid-state display and lighting technologies.  By that time, III-nitride alloys were regarded as the least likely candidates due to various "impossible" difficulties.  However, a series of unexpected breakthroughs in the 1990s totally changed people's views.  The first high-efficiency blue LEDs were invented and commercialized at the same time in 1993.  

Today, III-nitride-based LEDs have become the most widely used light source in many applications.  LED light bulbs have more than ten times the efficiency of incandescent bulbs and they last for 50 years!  At their current adoption rates, by 2020, LEDs can reduce the world's need for electricity by the equivalent of nearly 60 nuclear power plants.  The history of the invention of blue LED and future uses of their lighting will be described.

When

Past occurrences (1)

  • 5 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016

Where

1400 Centennial Hall

UWL campus map for building location and nearby parking lots.

University of Wisconsin-La Crosse 1400 Centennial Hall

Contact

For questions about this event or to request disability accommodations , contact Krista Anderson at 608.785.8429 or kanderson@uwlax.edu.

Parking

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