Title: The history, challenges, and frontiers of GaN blue light emitters
Speaker: Jung Han, William A. Norton Professor in Technological Innovation, Yale University
Abstract: The phenomenal advance in GaN-based light emitting devices has impacted our society and economy in a very tangible way. The breakthroughs in the field of GaN material research were made in the 1980-90s, and the researchers involved (Akasaki, Amano, and Nakamura) were just recognized with the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics. In this talk we will attempt to provide an overview concerning the historical development of this fascinating field, pointing out the current challenges that are facing solid state lighting, and anticipating both the impact and trend on energy efficient lighting.
Speaker Bio: Jung Han is the William Norton Professor in Technological Innovation and a Professor of Electrical Engineering at Yale University, where he has been the chairman of the Department Electrical Engineering since 2010. His PhD and postdoctoral research, both from Purdue University, focused on the development of II-VI blue-green laser diodes by molecular beam epitaxy. Before joining Yale University in 2001, he was a senior member of technical staff at Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico where he established a wide bandgap III-nitride semiconductor research effort for visible and ultraviolet light emitting diodes. His current research activities includes the visible InGaN light emitting structures for energy-efficient solid state lighting, nano-scale synthesis of AlGaInN heterostructures, and novel optoelectronics and miroelectronics. He has served as reviewers, panelists, and advisory board members for agencies including National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, and Department of Defense. The awards he received include R&D 100 (2004), MRS Ribbon Award (2005), and EMC best paper award (2014). He has published more than 240 papers in peer-reviewed journals with a total citation of more than 8,000 citations. He owns 8 US patents and is a co-founder of a startup company Saphlux based on his inventions. He is a member of Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE) and a Fellow of Institute of Physics (IoP) and Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).