When Holonyak joined GE’steam of researchers in 1957, GE scientists and engineers were already researching semiconductor applications and building the forerunners of modern diodes called thyristors and rectifiers.
While GE scientist Dr. Robert N. Hall was working toward realizing a semiconductor laser in the infrared with GaAs (Gallium arsenide), Holonyak aimed for the visible with GaAsP (Gallium arsenide phosphide). Hall used polishing to form laser mirrors, while Holonyak tried to form the mirrors by cleaving. On October 9, 1962, with GE colleagues looking on, Holonyak became the first person to operate a visible semiconductor alloy laser—the device thatilluminated the first visible LED.
Fifty years removed from Holonyak’s invention, new, robust and long-lasting LEDs have been incorporated to serve as light sources in countless applications ranging from the mundane to mission critical.
“LEDs are literally everywhere,” notes Mary Beth Gotti, manager of the GE Lighting Institute, a teaching facility at GE Lighting’s 100-year-old Nela Park world headquarters in East Cleveland, Ohio. “LEDs provide lighting in a variety of electronic devices and indicators including elevator buttons, exit signs, cell and smart phone displays, TVs, PCs, tablet computers, commercial signage, full motion video screens in sports venues, microscopic surgical equipment, railroad crossings and airport taxiway lights. And they are now hitting mainstream lighting applications like parking lots, roadways, accent lighting, general lighting and more.”
While GE scientist Dr. Robert N. Hall was working toward realizing a semiconductor laser in the infrared with GaAs (Gallium arsenide), Holonyak aimed for the visible with GaAsP (Gallium arsenide phosphide). Hall used polishing to form laser mirrors, while Holonyak tried to form the mirrors by cleaving. On October 9, 1962, with GE colleagues looking on, Holonyak became the first person to operate a visible semiconductor alloy laser—the device thatilluminated the first visible LED.
Fifty years removed from Holonyak’s invention, new, robust and long-lasting LEDs have been incorporated to serve as light sources in countless applications ranging from the mundane to mission critical.
“LEDs are literally everywhere,” notes Mary Beth Gotti, manager of the GE Lighting Institute, a teaching facility at GE Lighting’s 100-year-old Nela Park world headquarters in East Cleveland, Ohio. “LEDs provide lighting in a variety of electronic devices and indicators including elevator buttons, exit signs, cell and smart phone displays, TVs, PCs, tablet computers, commercial signage, full motion video screens in sports venues, microscopic surgical equipment, railroad crossings and airport taxiway lights. And they are now hitting mainstream lighting applications like parking lots, roadways, accent lighting, general lighting and more.”
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