The evolution of nitride-based light-emitting devices

Breakthroughs in crystal growth and conductivity control of nitride semiconductors during last two decades have led to such developments as high-brightness blue and green light-emitting diodes and long-lived violet laser diodes and so on. All of these nitride-based devices are robust and the most environmentally-friendly ones available. They enable us to save tremendous amount of energy and will be key devices in advanced information technology. Further progress in the area of crystal growth and device engineering will open up new frontier devices based on nitride semiconductors. In this paper, the evolution of nitride-based light-emitting devices is reviewed and the key issues, which must be addressed for nitrides to be fully developed, are discussed.