HEMT inventor to receive Kyoto Prize

Japanese semiconductor engineer Dr Takashi Mimura will receive the 2017 Kyoto Prize for his contributions to the advancement of ICT made through his invention and development of the high electron mobility transistor (HEMT). The prize is an international award presented by the Inamori Foundation to honour those who have contributed significantly to the scientific, cultural and spiritual betterment of humanity, presented annually in each of the following three categories: Advanced Technology, Basic Sciences, and Arts and Philosophy.

An honorary fellow at Fujitsu Laboratories, Dr Mimura worked from 1979 to 1980 to become the first in the world to succeed in developing and demonstrating the capabilities of HEMT transistor architecture. HEMT has excellent high-frequency characteristics, making it widely used as an ultrahigh-speed element supporting today’s information-based society, including with technology such as satellite broadcast receivers, mobile phones and mobile phone base stations, GPS receivers, and millimetre-band collision detection radar for automobiles.

HEMT has become an indispensable component in a variety of equipment in the microwave and millimetre wave bands as an element with excellent high-speed, low-noise performance. In addition, being utilised in radio telescopes, HEMTs contribute significantly to the progress of basic science, including the discovery of unknown interstellar molecules.

Dr Mimura’s fellow awardees include Dr Graham Farquhar, a plant physiologist and distinguished professor at the Australian National University, and Dr Richard Taruskin, a musicologist and professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. The award ceremony will take place on 10 November at the Kyoto International Conference Center.

Pictured: Dr Takashi Mimura.