The founder of Fremont, Calif.-based Soraa – the leader in GaN on GaN™ LED technology – has been awarded the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics. Recognizing that Dr. Shuji Nakamura’s invention of the blue light-emitting diode (LED) represents a critical advancement in LED lighting, the Nobel committee agreed the innovation “has enabled bright and energy-saving white light sources.”
“I am very honored to receive the Nobel Prize from The Royal Swedish Academy of Science for my invention of the blue LED,” Nakamura states. “It is very satisfying to see that my dream of LED lighting has become a reality. I hope that energy-efficient LED light bulbs will help reduce energy use and lower the cost of lighting worldwide, and that is why we founded Soraa.”
In 2007, Dr. Shuji Nakamura, along with pioneering professors Dr. Steven DenBaars and Dr. James Speck, decided to pursue an LED technology platform completely different than current industry practice — and one most industry experts at the time considered to be impossible to execute.
“We knew that our GaN on GaN™ LED technology would be the future of lighting and Soraa has made this a reality,” Nakamura adds.
Soraa’s team believed GaN on GaN™ LEDs would produce more light per area of LED and be more cost-effective than technology based on other foreign substrates like sapphire or silicon carbide. Today, Soraa’s LEDs reportedly emit more light per LED material than any other LED; handle more electric current per area than any other LED; and use GaN on GaN™ crystals that are up to 1,0000 times purer than any other LED crystal.
“Shuji is simply brilliant and well-deserving of this honor. Largely as a result of his work, Soraa has been able to push the boundaries of what is possible in high-performance LED lighting,” notes Jeff Parker, CEO of Soraa. “Soraa’s GaN on GaN™ LED lamps are now regarded as the best in the world, with quality of light that far surpasses any other LED product.”
