High brightness blue LED development (two): equipment, parts made repeatedly, cannot bear to think of the past development period

This paper will introduce the development of high brightness blue light-emitting diode in the form of serial. This is Nakamura Shuji from entering the Nichia chemical industries to start the whole process of blue light emitting diode. After entering the company in the village has been the development of metal Ga, InP, GaAs, GaAlAs and other single crystalline materials and multi crystalline materials. In order to save money, from the equipment to the whole process of processing components are completed by a village. Although the development of the final success, and successfully launched the business, but the product is not sold. Under anxiety, the village chose the blue light-emitting diode as the next research topic, and this is a business as long as the product will be sold.

Nichia chemical industries is headquartered in Tokushima Prefecture of Japan Anand city (hereinafter referred to as Nichia, note 1) is quite famous local company. Because the company has a three week summer vacation system. The staff will use the holiday all awa dance exercises. And to the AWA dance performance was held, the company will send staff consisting of "Nichia phalanx" jump on the street.

Note 1) Nichia chemical industries is headquartered in Tokushima City, Japan County Anand chemical manufacturers. The number of employees in April 1994 was 640, sales in January 1993 to December 1993 was 16 billion 700 million yen. The main products for the CRT and fluorescent lamps, such as the use of fluorescent materials, accounting for 8 of sales into the ~ 9. In addition, the compound semiconductor material, the vacuum evaporation material, the sputtering target material, and the liquid crystal panel backlight lamp, such as EL (electroluminescent) lamps, etc.. Founded in December 1956. In the village in 1979 to enter the company, sales of about 4 billion yen, the number of employees is about 200.

In Nichia has become one of the world famous company is at the end of 1993 (Table 1). This stems from the company developed a brightness of 1CD blue light emitting diode, and the successful implementation of mass production. Was once recognized as "to be able to achieve in twenty-first Century," the high brightness blue light-emitting diode thus smoothly into the practical note 2.

Nichia chemical industries in Anand headquarters

Note 2) Electronic Industries Association of Japan (EIAJ) and electronic display tube electronic display business committee will be announced in July 1993 2000 on the "Electronic Display Industry Outlook Survey Report" in 2000 has been described as "in the visual LED, blue LED was considered the most difficult to achieve high brightness products, and development the actual progress is quite slow, in order to reach 1CD in 2000, the industry searched almost all possibilities".

Table 1 development of blue LED

For Nichia feat, technical personnel in the field and researchers feel like shocked the world. What is even more surprising is that the achievement of such a feat, not in the field of long-term research at home and abroad well-known universities, nor large electronics manufacturers, but a local city of chemical manufacturers. Thus, Arias called from the summer vacation Nichia "into the" blue light emitting diodes arias".

For children to choose home

Almost all rely on their own efforts to develop high brightness blue light-emitting diode is the 40 year old researcher Nakamura Shuji (Figure 1). In 1979 the village from the Graduate School of The University of Tokushima after graduation to enter the arias. Major in electronic engineering.

Figure 1: Asian headquarters in blue light emitting diode display display area on the left side of the station is the successful development of blue light emitting diodes Nakamura Shuji

Students, of course, in the village of longing for Tokyo or Osaka and other big cities. But in the graduation to participate in the work, the village has a child. He got married when he was at college.

"If you are single, you can stay in the city. But if you have a child, it is better to live in the country. I don't want to sacrifice my family for work". It is this idea eventually in the village of Nichia and indissoluble bound.

But not to say that the village did not hesitate. In fact, the village has also been headquartered in Kyoto KYOCERA interview. Despite the rigorous examination, the smooth access to the opportunity to enter the KYOCERA, but the results of the village or give up. Finally, chose to stay in the local village, is the wife's phone number where the island city.

Arias are in the village of university tutor introduction. Although his major is electronic engineering, but the village hopes to engage in the development of materials, so the teacher recommended him to the company. However, when it came to the village which Nichia surprised. This is just a small chemical company with only 200 employees, with a pungent odor of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) everywhere in the note 3). "Why is this company so dirty?! "This is the first impression to the left in the village of arias.

Note 3) the odor of hydrogen sulfide is similar to that of rotten eggs.

The course of "frequent death"

After entering Nichia was assigned to the village, in the course of development. After entering the company in the village, the staff here are all Anan people nearby, like him from Tokushima really rare. Moreover, the village or the company's first electronic professional staff. In the village feel the company is taking into account the specialty of his study, so he assigned to the development of new business can do.

The initial development of the project is to extract the metal Ga material used in compound semiconductor GaP note 4. Although the development of the course, but in fact only a director with two developers and several small department assistant. The office space was converted from a rooftop parking lot