Background Story of the Invention of Efficient InGaN Blue-Light-Emitting Diodes (Nobel Lecture)

In the 1980s, all known material systems possessing the necessary properties for blue‐light emission had shortcomings, thus negating their utilization in efficient LEDs. Gallium nitride (GaN) was one possible candidate, though, at the time, no p‐type or active layer could be created. These challenges were ultimately overcome by Shuji Nakamura, who describes the path to the first blue GaN LED in his Nobel Lecture.