Nobel Lecture: Growth of GaN on sapphire via low-temperature deposited buffer layer and realization of p-type GaN by Mg doping followed by low-energy electron beam irradiation

This is a personal history of one of the Japanese researchers engaged in developing a method for growing GaN on a sapphire substrate, paving the way for the realization of smart television and display systems using blue LEDs. The most important work was done in the mid to late 1980s. The background to the author's work and the process by which the technology enabling the growth of GaN and the realization of p-type GaN was established are reviewed.