How Did Nick Holonyak Invent The LED?
Nick Holonyak was born on November 3, 1928, to Ukrainian immigrants in Zeigler, Illinois. He had planned to follow in his father’s coal mining footsteps, but his father persuaded him to work above ground for the Illinois Central Railroad instead. Holonyak wanted to switch jobs because the role demanded strenuous physical labour. Later, he enrolled…
Nick Holonyak was born on November 3, 1928, to Ukrainian immigrants in Zeigler, Illinois. He had planned to follow in his father’s coal mining footsteps, but his father persuaded him to work above ground for the Illinois Central Railroad instead. Holonyak wanted to switch jobs because the role demanded strenuous physical labour. Later, he enrolled in the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where he earned a bachelor’s in science in 1950, a master’s in science in 1951, and a PhD in electrical engineering in 1951. (1954). Shortly after completing his bachelor’s degree, he enrolled as John Bardeen’s first graduate student. The only electrical engineer and physicist to get the Physics Nobel Prize twice are John Bardeen.
Following his time in the military, Holonyak worked for Bell Labs and GE before making a comeback in 1963 as an instructor at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. There, in 1977, he co-created the first quantum-well semiconductor laser with his student Edward Rezek. These lasers were used in a variety of products, including laser printers, CD and DVD players, and more. They are crucial to the process of online information transmission.
How Did Nick Holonyak Invent The LED?
The choice to develop a visible light-emitting diode was made by Holonyak. In 1962, Holonyak used the semiconductor material gallium arsenide phosphide (GaAsP) and the stimulated emission technique to successfully operate the first operational visible LED device. The device Holonyak used created a red glow.
