LED Developer Nick Holonyak, Who Opened the 'Era of Light,' Passes Away at 93

Nick Holonyak Jr.
[Photo by University of Illinois website]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Nick Holonyak, who opened the era of Light Emitting Diodes (LED), passed away at the age of 93, according to The Washington Post on the 21st (local time).

According to the report, Holonyak died on the 18th in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois.

Born in 1927 in the small southern Illinois town of Zigley, Holonyak was the first to develop a red LED emitting visible light using gallium arsenide phosphide (GaAsP) in 1962. Although the physical theory to discover LEDs had been completed in the early 20th century, at that time it only produced light that was invisible to the naked eye. Holonyak is credited with developing an LED that emits red light when current passes through a semiconductor, advancing LEDs to a practical stage.

Initially, LEDs did not attract much market attention due to their high cost, but they began to be widely used as an energy-saving measure. The WP stated, "LED usage has saved $30 billion annually in the United States (approximately 42.3 trillion won)" and "LEDs have contributed to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by decreasing traditional fossil fuel consumption."

Holonyak joined the University of Illinois faculty the year after developing the LED and collaborated with mathematician John Bardeen, a two-time Nobel Prize winner in Physics, achieving the first demonstration of quantum well lasers used in optical fibers, CDs, and DVD players. In 1990, he received the National Medal of Science from former U.S. President George Bush, and last year, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering in recognition of his contributions to scientific advancement.

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