The National Science and Technology Award Conference, the Joint Academician Conference of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and the 11th National Congress of the China Association for Science and Technology were held in Beijing on the morning of the 8th. The project "Three-Dimensional V-pit PN Junction and Its Applications," accomplished by the team led by Academician Jiang Fengyi of Nanchang University, won the First Prize of the State Natural Science Award.

This project falls under applied basic research. It has been dedicated to GaN-on-Si (gallium nitride on silicon) LEDs, breaking away from merely extending the existing foreign technology routes and forging a new path of independent research and development. By proposing novel theoretical methods, the project achieved a leap in technological capability, advancing from basic research all the way to commercialization.

The project revealed that, in the quantum well region of this material, the large-sized three-dimensional V-pit structures induced by dislocations play beneficial roles such as enhancing hole injection into the quantum wells and improving quantum well quality, overturning the conventional belief that "the fewer and smaller the dislocation defects, the better." The team proposed a theoretical method for three-dimensional V-pit PN junctions, extending the PN junction interface from two dimensions to three dimensions. The hole injection path into the quantum wells shifted from the polar plane with a high potential barrier to the semipolar plane with a low potential barrier, transforming V-pits from being "greatly harmful" to "slightly harmful," and ultimately into being "greatly useful." As a result, the luminous efficiency of yellow LEDs, the luminous efficiency of GaN-based red LEDs, and the electrical injection efficiency of blue-green LEDs were all substantially improved.

The project pioneered a phosphor-free, chip-based LED lighting technology route, with its products applied at scale in scenarios such as road and bridge lighting and ambient lighting. Its display chips have been deployed in large quantities in special-purpose equipment. The project achieved wafer-level integration of GaN-on-Si LEDs with silicon-based circuits, successfully developing microdisplays and the world's first yellow-light AR glasses.

The theoretical methods proposed on the non-consensus route have gained recognition from international peers and have been extended to widely adopted consensus routes, elevating their technological level and advancing the development of the semiconductor luminescence discipline as well as the semiconductor lighting and display industry.

The State Natural Science Award is one of the five major national science and technology awards in China. In the 2025 National Science and Technology Awards, a total of 51 State Natural Science Awards were conferred, including 3 first prizes and 48 second prizes.

On February 3, 2016, General Secretary Xi Jinping visited Nanchang University in person, expressing high expectations for the university's scientific and technological innovation and talent cultivation. This brought great encouragement to the faculty and students of Nanchang University and injected strong momentum into the university's development. Over the past decade, Nanchang University has kept this expectation in mind and pressed forward with gratitude and determination. This award is not only an answer delivered by Academician Jiang Fengyi's team in knowledge innovation and technological innovation, but also a vivid embodiment of the university's commitment to scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening.

Introduction to the Principal Contributors to the Project

Jiang Fengyi, male, Han ethnicity, member of the Communist Party of China, was born in Yugan, Jiangxi province in 1963. He studied in the Department of Physics at Jilin University from 1980 to 1984, and received his master's degree from the Changchun Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (now the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics) in 1989. He has long been working in Jiangxi. He is a professor at Nanchang University, Director of the Nanchang Laboratory, and an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Division of Information Technical Sciences). He is the first principal contributor to the project "Three-Dimensional V-pit PN Junction and Its Applications," which won the First Prize of the 2025 State Natural Science Award.

Zhang Jianli, male, Han ethnicity, was born in Huangmei, Hubei province in 1983. He received his bachelor's degree from the National University of Singapore in 2006 and his doctoral degree from Nanchang University in 2014. He is a researcher at Nanchang University and Chief Scientist of the Nanchang Laboratory. He is the second principal contributor to the project "Three-Dimensional V-pit PN Junction and Its Applications," which won the First Prize of the 2025 State Natural Science Award.

Xu Longquan, male, Han ethnicity, member of the Communist Party of China, was born in Fengcheng, Jiangxi province in 1971. He studied in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Nanchang University from 1989 to 1993, and received his master's degree from the Institute of Power Electronics, Nanchang University in 1998. He is a professor at Nanchang University and Deputy Director of the Nanchang Laboratory. He is the third principal contributor to the project "Three-Dimensional V-pit PN Junction and Its Applications," which won the First Prize of the 2025 State Natural Science Award.

Quan Zhijue, male, Han ethnicity, member of the Jiusan Society, was born in Linchuan, Jiangxi province in 1977. He studied in the Department of Materials Engineering at the North China Institute of Technology (now North University of China) for his bachelor's and master's degrees from 1995 to 2002, and received his doctoral degree from the Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2007. He is a researcher at Nanchang University. He is the fourth principal contributor to the project "Three-Dimensional V-pit PN Junction and Its Applications," which won the First Prize of the 2025 State Natural Science Award.

Wu Xiaoming, male, Han ethnicity, member of the Communist Party of China, was born in Xinyu, Jiangxi province in 1985. He studied in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Huazhong University of Science and Technology from 2003 to 2007, and received his doctoral degree from Nanchang University in 2015. He is a researcher at Nanchang University and Chief Engineer of the Nanchang Laboratory. He is the fifth principal contributor to the project "Three-Dimensional V-pit PN Junction and Its Applications," which won the First Prize of the 2025 State Natural Science Award.