Nitride Semiconductors and Devices

A View of the Past, and a Look into the Future by a Pioneer By Jacques I. Pankove This forword will be a brief review of important developments in the early and recent history of gallium nitride, and also a perspective on the current and future evolution of this exciting field. Gallium nitride (GaN) was syn­ thesized more than 50 years ago by Johnson et al. [1] in 1932, and also by Juza and Hahn [2] in 1938, who passed ammonia over hot gallium. This method produced small needles and platele...