Shuji Nakamura Named SVIPLA Inventor of the Year
Soraa, the world’s leading developer of GaN-on-GaN (gallium nitride on gallium nitride) solid-state lighting technology, announced that co-founder Shuji Nakamura received the Inventor of the Year Award from The Silicon Valley Intellectual Property Law Association (SVIPLA). Each year the SVIPLA recognizes an individual who has made an exceptional contribution in the technical arts and this year has chosen to honor Nakamura for his technological innovations, including the development of Soraa’s GaN-on-GaN technology.
Nakamura, known in the lighting industry as the “inventor of high-brightness blue and white LEDs,” has filed more than 700 patent applications and can claim at least 360 authorized invention patents. His development of nitride-based semiconductors, which eventually led to Soraa’s LED replacement lamps, is cited by the SVIPLA as “one of the most important achievements in the materials science of semiconductors in the last 30 years.”
“I am proud to be recognized by the property law association and I thank them for this. My focus is to create efficient lighting products that do not compromise on performance, offer the highest quality available and greatly reduce energy waste,” said Nakamura.
Using the GaN-on-GaN technology developed by Nakamura, Soraa produces LEDs that perform much better than LEDs that deposit GaN on non-native substrates like silicon or sapphire. GaN-on-GaN allows a much smaller, brighter diode and makes it possible to use one LED light emitter per lamp. Manufacturers using other substrates often use three or more diodes to achieve equivalent brightness. Multiple sources of light within a lamp can create shadow patterns instead of the crisp light required of an MR16.
MR16 lamps are Soraa’s first commercially available products and are used in commercial, museum and high-end consumer applications.
“Shuji’s pioneering work has enabled Soraa to produce the most advanced LED lamps on the market,” said Eric Kim, CEO of Soraa. “As we continue to innovate, we are pleased to see our co-founder honored for the work that started it all. For those who have followed his contributions to the industry and to LED technology, this award has special meaning.”
Founded in 2008, Soraa has developed the world’s first commercial GaN-on-GaN LED lamp fabrication facility located in Fremont, CA. Soraa’s investors include Khosla Ventures, NEA, and NGEN Partners.
Source: www.soraa.com