IEM Distinguished Lecturers Seminar: Advancing Sustainable Society Through Wide Bandgap and Ultrawide Bandgap Semiconductors
Event details
| Date | 12.06.2026 |
| Hour | 10:30 › 12:00 |
| Speaker | Prof. Hiroshi Amano, Nagoya University, Japan |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
| Event Language | English |
Abstract
The realization of a sustainable society requires transformative advances in energy generation, conversion, storage, and utilization. Semiconductor technologies play a central role in this transformation by enabling highly efficient electronic and photonic systems that reduce energy consumption and environmental impact. Among these technologies, wide bandgap (WBG) and ultrawide bandgap (UWBG) semiconductors have emerged as key enablers for next‑generation sustainable infrastructure.
This lecture reviews the evolution of WBG and UWBG semiconductor research, with a primary focus on gallium nitride (GaN) and its related material systems, spanning from fundamental materials science to large‑scale societal impact, especially why poor Japanese University sparked the blue LED revolution. Now, GaN has already demonstrated disruptive potential through its success in blue light‑emitting diodes and is now rapidly expanding into power electronics, high‑frequency wireless communication, and advanced energy systems. By enabling lower power losses, higher switching speeds, higher operating temperatures, and higher voltage operation, GaN‑based devices contribute directly to significant reductions in global energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
Beyond GaN, emerging UWBG semiconductors such as aluminum nitride, gallium oxide, diamond, and related alloy systems offer new opportunities for extreme‑performance electronics and photonics. These materials promise operation in previously inaccessible regimes of electric field, thermal conductivity, and optical transparency, opening pathways toward compact power grids, resilient energy infrastructures, and harsh‑environment sensing technologies. However, their widespread adoption depends on overcoming critical challenges in crystal growth, doping control, defect management, reliability, and scalable device design and fabrication.
Drawing on decades of research experience, this talk highlights key lessons learned in materials development, device engineering, and ecosystem building, emphasizing the importance of long‑term fundamental research coupled with close collaboration between academia, government and industry. Case studies illustrate how sustained efforts in fundamental physics such as crystal growth and device physics can translate into practical technologies with global impact.
The presentation concludes by discussing future research directions and international collaboration opportunities, particularly in the context of achieving carbon neutrality and sustainable development goals. By integrating advances in WBG and UWBG semiconductors with system‑level innovation, these technologies are poised to play a decisive role in shaping a more energy‑efficient and sustainable society.
Biography
Prof. Hiroshi Amano received his Doctor of Engineering degree from Nagoya University. From 1988 to 1992, he worked as a research associate at Nagoya University. In 1992, he moved to Meijo University, where he continued his research and academic activities until 2010. He then returned to Nagoya University as a professor in the Graduate School of Engineering in 2010.
On October 1, 2015, Prof. Amano became the Director of the Center for Integrated Research of Future Electronics Institute of Materials and Systems for Sustainability, Nagoya University, and was appointed Distinguished Professor.
Prof. Amano shared the Nobel Prize in Physics 2014 with Prof. Isamu Akasaki and Prof. Shuji Nakamura “for the invention of efficient blue light-emitting diodes which has enabled bright and energy‑saving white light sources.”
He is currently leading research on advanced fabrication technologies for high‑efficiency power semiconductors and next‑generation energy‑saving devices at Nagoya University.
The realization of a sustainable society requires transformative advances in energy generation, conversion, storage, and utilization. Semiconductor technologies play a central role in this transformation by enabling highly efficient electronic and photonic systems that reduce energy consumption and environmental impact. Among these technologies, wide bandgap (WBG) and ultrawide bandgap (UWBG) semiconductors have emerged as key enablers for next‑generation sustainable infrastructure.
This lecture reviews the evolution of WBG and UWBG semiconductor research, with a primary focus on gallium nitride (GaN) and its related material systems, spanning from fundamental materials science to large‑scale societal impact, especially why poor Japanese University sparked the blue LED revolution. Now, GaN has already demonstrated disruptive potential through its success in blue light‑emitting diodes and is now rapidly expanding into power electronics, high‑frequency wireless communication, and advanced energy systems. By enabling lower power losses, higher switching speeds, higher operating temperatures, and higher voltage operation, GaN‑based devices contribute directly to significant reductions in global energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
Beyond GaN, emerging UWBG semiconductors such as aluminum nitride, gallium oxide, diamond, and related alloy systems offer new opportunities for extreme‑performance electronics and photonics. These materials promise operation in previously inaccessible regimes of electric field, thermal conductivity, and optical transparency, opening pathways toward compact power grids, resilient energy infrastructures, and harsh‑environment sensing technologies. However, their widespread adoption depends on overcoming critical challenges in crystal growth, doping control, defect management, reliability, and scalable device design and fabrication.
Drawing on decades of research experience, this talk highlights key lessons learned in materials development, device engineering, and ecosystem building, emphasizing the importance of long‑term fundamental research coupled with close collaboration between academia, government and industry. Case studies illustrate how sustained efforts in fundamental physics such as crystal growth and device physics can translate into practical technologies with global impact.
The presentation concludes by discussing future research directions and international collaboration opportunities, particularly in the context of achieving carbon neutrality and sustainable development goals. By integrating advances in WBG and UWBG semiconductors with system‑level innovation, these technologies are poised to play a decisive role in shaping a more energy‑efficient and sustainable society.
Biography
Prof. Hiroshi Amano received his Doctor of Engineering degree from Nagoya University. From 1988 to 1992, he worked as a research associate at Nagoya University. In 1992, he moved to Meijo University, where he continued his research and academic activities until 2010. He then returned to Nagoya University as a professor in the Graduate School of Engineering in 2010.
On October 1, 2015, Prof. Amano became the Director of the Center for Integrated Research of Future Electronics Institute of Materials and Systems for Sustainability, Nagoya University, and was appointed Distinguished Professor.
Prof. Amano shared the Nobel Prize in Physics 2014 with Prof. Isamu Akasaki and Prof. Shuji Nakamura “for the invention of efficient blue light-emitting diodes which has enabled bright and energy‑saving white light sources.”
He is currently leading research on advanced fabrication technologies for high‑efficiency power semiconductors and next‑generation energy‑saving devices at Nagoya University.
Practical information
- General public
- Free