Hiroshi Amano

Nagoya University

Hiroshi Amano is a Japanese physicist and professor at Nagoya University's Institute of Materials and Systems for Sustainability. He shared the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics with Isamu Akasaki and Shuji Nakamura for the invention of efficient blue light-emitting diodes, which enabled bright and energy-saving white light sources and revolutionized lighting technology worldwide. Working as Akasaki's graduate student in the 1980s, Amano helped develop a crucial technique for growing high-quality gallium nitride (GaN) crystals on sapphire substrates using a low-temperature buffer layer—a breakthrough that made GaN-based LEDs practical. He also discovered a method for p-type doping of GaN using electron beam irradiation, enabling the creation of p-n junctions essential for LED operation. Beyond LED technology, Amano has continued to push the frontiers of nitride semiconductor devices including high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) for power electronics and laser diodes for optical storage. GaN power devices are increasingly important for energy-efficient power conversion in electric vehicles, data centers, and renewable energy systems. Amano directs the Center for Integrated Research of Future Electronics at Nagoya University. He has received numerous honors including the Akasaki Prize, the IEEE Jun-ichi Nishizawa Medal, and multiple honorary professorships at universities across Asia and Europe.