is a Japanese materials scientist specializing in the field of semiconductor technology. He is a co-inventor of the blue LED, for which he was awarded the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics along with Isamu Akasaki and Shuji Nakamura.
Early life and education Hiroshi Amano was born on September 11, 1960, in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, the son of father Tatsuji and mother Yoshiko.
During elementary school days, Amano played soccer as a goalkeeper and softball as a catcher. He was also passionate about amateur radio and despite hating studying, he was good at mathematics. Upon entering high school, he began taking his studies seriously and became a top student by studying every day late into the night.
In 1979, Amano entered Nagoya University, where he graduated from the School of Engineering in 1983. He then completed a master's course in the Graduate School of Engineering in 1985, and received his D.Eng. in 1989.
Career In 1988, Amano became a research associate in the School of Engineering at Nagoya University. From 1992 to 2010, he was an assistant professor, associate professor, and a professor in the Faculty of Science and Technology at Meijo University. In 2010, Amano returned to Nagoya University, where he is currently a professor in the Graduate School of Engineering. He has been director of the Akasaki Research Center since 2011.
Research
Amano joined Professor Isamu Akasaki's group in 1982 as an undergraduate student. Since then, he has been doing research on the growth, characterization and device applications of group III nitride semiconductors, which are well known as materials used in blue light-emitting diodes today. In 1985, he developed low-temperature deposited buffer layers for the growth of group III nitride semiconductor films on a sapphire substrate, which led to the realization of group-III-nitride semiconductor based light-emitting diodes and laser diodes. In 1989, he succeeded in growing p-type GaN and fabricating a p-n-junction-type GaN-based UV/blue light-emitting diode for the first time in the world.
Known to be keen on research, Amano's laboratory was always lit late at night, such as weekdays, holidays, New Year's Day, and was called "no night castle". According to his students in the laboratory, Amano has an optimistic and temperate personality, and is never angry.
Family Amano's wife was a Japanese lecturer at Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Recognition Awards Year Organization Award Citation 1998 Rank Foundation Rank Prize for Optoelectronics "For contributions to the invention of nitride based blue and green semiconductor diode lasers." 2014 Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Nobel Prize in Physics "For the invention of efficient blue light-emitting diodes which has enabled bright and energy-saving white light sources." 2015 Asia Society Asia Game Changer Award "For lighting our world in a groundbreaking and sustainable way." 2016 Asian Scientist Asian Scientist 100 —
Memberships Year Organization Type 2009 Japan Society of Applied Physics Fellow 2015 American Physical Society Fellow 2016 National Academy of Engineering International Member 2019 Chinese Academy of Engineering Foreign Academician 2022 Japan Academy Member
Honorary degrees Year University 2016 University of Padova 2017 Linköping University 2025 University of Milano-Bicocca
Selected publications
I. Akasaki, H. Amano, K. Itoh, N. Koide & K. Manabe, Int. Phys. Conf. Ser. 129, 851 (1992).
See also List of Japanese Nobel laureates
Notes
References
External links