Jun-ichi Nishizawa

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Jun-ichi Nishizawa
西澤 潤一
Junichi Nishizawa.jpg
BornSeptember 12, 1926
DiedOctober 21, 2018(2018-10-21) (aged 92)
Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Alma materTohoku University
Awards IEEE Edison Medal (2000)
Order of Culture
Scientific career
Institutions Tohoku University
Iwate Prefectural University
Tokyo Metropolitan University
Sophia University
Layers of a PIN diode. (+ -)
The PIN photodiode was invented by Jun-ichi Nishizawa in 1950. Pin-Diode.svg
Layers of a PIN diode. (+ -)
The PIN photodiode was invented by Jun-ichi Nishizawa in 1950.

Jun-ichi Nishizawa (西澤 潤一, Nishizawa Jun'ichi, September 12, 1926 October 21, 2018) [1] was a Japanese engineer and inventor. He is known for his electronic inventions since the 1950s, including the PIN diode, static induction transistor, static induction thyristor, SIT/SITh. His inventions contributed to the development of internet technology and the information age. [2]

Contents

He was a professor at Sophia University. He is considered the "Father of Japanese Microelectronics".

Biography

Nishizawa was born in Sendai, Japan, on September 12, 1926. He earned a B.S. in 1948, and a Doctor of Engineering degree in 1960, from Tohoku University.

In 1953, he joined the Research Institute of Electrical Communication at Tohoku University. He became a professor there and was appointed director to two research institutes. From 1990 to 1996, Nishizawa served as the President of Tohoku University.

He became the president of Iwate Prefectural University in 1998.

Research

In 1950, the static induction transistor was invented by Jun-ichi Nishizawa and Y. Watanabe. [3] The PIN photodiode was also invented by Nishizawa and his colleagues in 1950. [4]

In 1952, he invented the avalanche photodiode. [5] He then invented a solid-state maser in 1955. [5] This was followed by his proposal for a semiconductor optical maser in 1957, a year before Schawlow and Townes's first paper on optical masers. [5] [6] [7]

While working at Tohoku University, he proposed fiber-optic communication, the use of optical fibers for optical communication, in 1963. [8] Nishizawa other invented technologies in the 1960s that contributed to the development of optical fiber communications, such as the graded-index optical fiber as a channel for transmitting light from semiconductor lasers. [9] [10] He patented the graded-index optical fiber in 1964. [2]

In 1971, he invented the static induction thyristor. [5] [11]

Recognition

Nishizawa was a Life Fellow of the IEEE. He is a Fellow of several other institutions, including the Physical Society, the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Polish Academy of Sciences. Nishizawa was decorated with Order of Culture by the emperor of Japan in 1989. [12] He also received the Japan Academy Prize (1974), [12] IEEE Jack A. Morton Award (1983), [13] the Honda Prize and the Laudise Prize of the International Organization for Crystal Growth (1989). [14] IEEE conferred the Edison Medal on him in 2000, [15] and introduced the IEEE Jun-ichi Nishizawa Medal in 2002. [16] He has more than a thousand patents registered under his name. [1]

Related Research Articles

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The static induction transistor (SIT) is a type of field-effect transistor (FET) capable of high-speed and high-power operation, with low distortion and low noise. It is a vertical structure device with short multichannel. The device was originally known as a VFET, with V being short for vertical. Being a vertical device, the SIT structure offers advantages in obtaining higher breakdown voltages than a conventional FET. For the SIT, the breakdown voltage is not limited by the surface breakdown between gate and drain, allowing it to operate at a very high current and voltage. The SIT has a current-voltage characteristic similar to a vacuum tube triode and it was therefore used in high-end audio products, including power amplifiers from Sony in the second half of the 1970s and Yamaha from 1973-1980. The Sony n-channel SIT had the model number 2SK82 with its p-channel complement named 2SJ28.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James R. Biard</span> American electrical engineer and inventor (1931–2022)

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In 2002, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) added a new award to its already existing program of awards. Each year, one or more nominees are honored with a medal in the name of Jun-ichi Nishizawa, considered to be the father of Japanese microelectronics. Nishizawa was professor, director of two research institutes and the 17th president at Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan, and contributed important innovations in the fields of optical communications and semiconductor devices, such as laser and PIN diodes and static induction thyristors for electric power applications.

This is the history of science and technology in modern Japan.

References

  1. 1 2 "Former Tohoku U. president Junichi Nishizawa, known as 'Mr. Semiconductor,' dies at 92". The Mainichi . October 26, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  2. 1 2 The Third Industrial Revolution Occurred in Sendai, Soh-VEHE International Patent Office, Japan Patent Attorneys Association
  3. McCluskey, F. Patrick; Podlesak, Thomas; Grzybowski, Richard, eds. (1996). High Temperature Electronics (illustrated ed.). CRC Press. p. 82. ISBN   9780849396236.
  4. Dummer, G. W. A. (2013). Electronic Inventions and Discoveries: Electronics from Its Earliest Beginnings to the Present Day (3rd, revised ed.). Elsevier. p. 137. ISBN   9781483145211.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Jun-ichi Nishizawa: Engineer, Sophia University Special Professor (interview), Japan Quality Review, 2011.
  6. Nishizawa, Jun-ichi (December 2009). "Extension of frequencies from maser to laser". Proc Jpn Acad Ser B Phys Biol Sci. 85 (10): 454–465. doi: 10.2183/pjab.85.454 . PMC   3621550 . PMID   20009378.
  7. Schawlow, Arthur; Townes, Charles (1958). "Infrared and Optical Masers". Physical Review. 112 (6): 1940–1949. Bibcode:1958PhRv..112.1940S. doi: 10.1103/PhysRev.112.1940 .
  8. Nishizawa, Jun-ichi & Suto, Ken (2004). "Terahertz wave generation and light amplification using Raman effect". In Bhat, K. N. & DasGupta, Amitava (eds.). Physics of semiconductor devices. New Delhi, India: Narosa Publishing House. p. 27. ISBN   81-7319-567-6.
  9. "Optical Fiber". Sendai New. Archived from the original on September 29, 2009. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
  10. Kowalenko, Kathy (June 1, 2003). "New Medal Honors Japanese Microelectrics Industry Leader". Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Archived from the original on September 15, 2009.[ verification needed ]
  11. Dummer, G. W. A. (2013). Electronic Inventions and Discoveries: Electronics from Its Earliest Beginnings to the Present Day (3rd, revised ed.). Elsevier. p. 231. ISBN   9781483145211.
  12. 1 2 "Prize Winners" (PDF). Tohoku University.
  13. "IEEE Jack A. Morton Award Recipients" (PDF). IEEE. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  14. "Prizes". International Organization for Crystal Growth. Archived from the original on November 25, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  15. "IEEE Edison Medal Recipients" (PDF). IEEE.
  16. "IEEE Jun-ichi Nishizawa Medal". IEEE. Retrieved January 15, 2019.