Jun-ichi Nishizawa 西澤 潤一 | |
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| Born | September 12, 1926 Sendai,Miyagi Prefecture, Japan |
| Died | October 21, 2018(2018-10-21) (aged 92) Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan |
| Alma mater | Tohoku University |
| Awards | Japan Academy Prize(1974) IEEE Jack A. Morton Award(1983) Order of Culture(1989) IEEE Edison Medal(2000) |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Tohoku University Iwate Prefectural University Tokyo Metropolitan University Sophia University |
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 hiselectronic inventions since the 1950s, including thePIN diode,static induction transistor,static induction thyristor,SIT/SITh. His inventions contributed to the development ofinternet technology and theInformation Age.[2] He was a professor atSophia University.
Nishizawa was born inSendai, Japan, on September 12, 1926. He earned a B.S. in 1948, and a Doctor of Engineering degree in 1960, fromTohoku 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 ofIwate Prefectural University in 1998.
In 1950, the static induction transistor was invented by Jun-ichi Nishizawa and Y. Watanabe.[3] ThePIN photodiode was also invented by Nishizawa and his colleagues in 1950.[4]
In 1952, he invented theavalanche photodiode.[5] He then invented asolid-statemaser in 1955.[5] This was followed by his proposal for asemiconductor optical maser in 1957, a year beforeSchawlow andTownes's first paper on optical masers.[5][6][7]
While working atTohoku University, he proposedfiber-optic communication, the use ofoptical fibers foroptical communication, in 1963.[8] Nishizawa invented other technologies in the 1960s that contributed to the development of optical fiber communications, such as thegraded-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 thestatic induction thyristor.[5][11]
Nishizawa was a Life Fellow of theIEEE. He is a Fellow of several other institutions, including thePhysical Society, theRussian Academy of Sciences, and thePolish Academy of Sciences. Nishizawa was decorated withOrder of Culture by the emperor of Japan in 1989.[12] He also received theJapan Academy Prize (1974),[12]IEEE Jack A. Morton Award (1983),[13] theHonda Prize (1986), and the Laudise Prize of the International Organization for Crystal Growth (1989).[14]IEEE conferred theEdison Medal on him in 2000,[15] and introduced theIEEE Jun-ichi Nishizawa Medal in 2002.[16] He has more than a thousand patents registered under his name.[1]
