Gallium nitride

Gallium nitride (GaN) is a wide-bandgap compound semiconductor made from gallium and nitrogen. It enables blue and ultraviolet light-emitting devices and electronics that operate at high power or frequency.

Wurtzite crystal structure: A hexagonal crystal structure adopted by many compounds, including gallium nitride under ordinary conditions. This structure gives GaN its spontaneous polarization and strongly influences its electronic behavior.
Gallium nitride LED: A light-emitting diode whose active semiconductor layers include gallium nitride or a related nitride alloy. GaN-based LEDs made efficient blue emission practical and support white LED lighting.
Gallium nitride history: The development of GaN research, crystal growth, and semiconductor devices from the twentieth century onward. Its history explains how a difficult material became a foundation for lighting and power electronics.
Silicon: A chemical element and semiconductor widely used in integrated circuits and power electronics. Silicon is cheaper and more mature, while GaN can switch faster and withstand stronger electric fields.
Nobel Prize in Physics 2014: The 2014 physics prize awarded for the invention of efficient blue light-emitting diodes. The award recognized the GaN-based blue LED as a major advance in lighting technology.
Band gap: The energy difference between a semiconductor’s valence band and conduction band. GaN’s wide band gap supports blue and ultraviolet emission and high-voltage operation.
Blue LED: A light-emitting diode that produces blue light through electroluminescence. The development of efficient blue LEDs depended on high-quality GaN-based semiconductor layers.
Isamu Akasaki: A Japanese physicist who advanced GaN crystal growth and blue light-emitting diodes. His work helped overcome material-quality and p-type doping barriers in GaN.
Silicon carbide: A wide-bandgap semiconductor compound of silicon and carbon used in power and high-temperature electronics. SiC competes with GaN in power conversion but often suits higher voltages and temperatures.
Solid-state lighting: Lighting produced by semiconductor devices rather than heated filaments or gas discharges. GaN blue emitters enabled efficient white solid-state lighting when combined with phosphors.

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