Dr. Shunpei Yamazaki discovered the Indium–gallium–zinc oxide (IGZO) crystalline structure material for transistors to have a higher mobility than amorphous silicon transistors, and an extremely low off-state current. C-axis aligned crystalline (CAAC) IGZO enables aggressive down-scaling, high reliability, and process simplification of transistors in displays and LSI devices. Listed on over 4,000 US utility patents, Dr. Yamazaki was named in the Guinness Book of World Records as holding the most patents in the world; hailed the most prolific inventor in history by USA Today. His most notable work is on the thin-film transistor — a significant discovery being a crystalline structure in Indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) material, which he discovered “by chance” in 2009. Today Dr. Yamazaki is President of the Semiconductor Energy Laboratory (SEL), where he and his team pioneered the unique development of ultra-low-power devices using CAAC-IGZO technology. A joint venture with the Sharp Corporation manufacturing smartphones using crystalline oxide semiconductors (IGZO) is a global first. In 2015 Dr. Yamazaki received the SID (Society for Information Display) Special Recognition Award for “discovering CAAC-IGZO semiconductors, leading its practical application, and paving the way to next-generation displays.” His paper on CAAC-IGZO ranked in the top 15 most downloaded papers of Wiley Electrical Engineering and Communications Technology journals, 2014. Dr. Yamazaki is also an IEEE Life Fellow.
IGZO inventor, Dr. Shunpei Yamazaki, President of Semiconductor Energy Laboratory (SEL)
Posted by – August 26, 2017
