Leo Esaki is a Japanese physicist who shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physics with Ivar Giaever and Brian Josephson for his work on tunneling in semiconductors, which led to his invention of the tunnel diode that exploits this phenomenon. His research was done when he was with Sony. He has also contributed in being a pioneer of semiconductor superlattices. The Nobel Prize in Physics 1973, announced October 23, 1973. Leo Esaki (1/4), “for their experimental discoveries regarding tunneling phenomena in semiconductors and superconductors, respectively”. Ivar Giaever (1/4), “for their experimental discoveries regarding tunneling phenomena in semiconductors and superconductors, respectively”. Brian D. Josephson (1/2), “for his theoretical predictions of the properties of a supercurrent through a tunnel barrier, in particular those phenomena which are generally known as the Josephson effects”. Leo Esaki: born 1925, Osaka, Japan. Ivar Giaever: born 1929, Bergen, Norway. Brian D. Josephson: born 1940, Cardiff, United Kingdom. Wiki link Wiki link Wiki link Data: the Nobel Foundation (CC0).