It’s very fitting that we close out National Inventors Month, with the celebration of the remarkable invention of Nick Holonyak, Jr. whose simple, yet brilliant creation of the little red-light emitting diode—the first visible LED, was the spark that created the flame that transformed the entire modern lighting world.
Holonyak was the son of immigrants from what is now Ukraine. He studied electrical engineering at the University of Illinois where he earned his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. He was the first graduate student of two-time Nobel winning scientist, John Bardeen, a co-inventor of the transistor.
Holonyak spent a year (1954–55) working at Bell Telephone Laboratories and two years (1955–57) in the military, before joining General Electric’s electronics laboratory. Several GE teams were working in the field of optoelectronics and the conversion of electrical current into light.
At a time when other researchers focused on infrared light, Holonyak worked on a method to synthesize gallium arsenide phosphide (GaAsP) crystals, which exhibited wavelengths in the visible spectrum. Using this “tunable” alloy, on Oct. 9, 1962, Holonyak demonstrated the first visible-light-emitting diode (the red LED).
Holonyak’s research in optoelectronics revolutionized the lighting, communications, and entertainment industries. His work was responsible for the technology used to develop red lasers in CD and DVD players, the ability to transmit information over the Internet, and the development of applications to replace conventional lighting with LEDs.
In 1963, Holonyak joined the University of Illinois faculty where he would spearhead the fabrication of the first semiconductor laser from an alloy, GaAsP. The success of the GaAsP laser prototype made possible the development of red lasers used in CDs, DVD players and high frequency circuits in cell phones. Holonyak’s GaAsP alloy demonstrated that III-V alloys are viable. They are found in all high performance LEDs and lasers today.
Throughout his professional career, Holonyak received numerous awards, and he was one of only a handful of Americans to be awarded both the National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology.
Holonyak, like all of the inventors profiled this month, helped to develop what we know today as the modern lighting industry. We honor their legacy, their brilliance, and their courage. Without them our world would look a whole lot different.
Featured Image Courtesy of the Washington Post.
