SSL luminary and author of Haitz's Law has passed away at the age of 80, but his LED legacy will live long into the future through a revolution in lighting.

In tribute: Recognizing the life and work of LED pioneer Roland HaitzDr. Roland Haitz passed away in his Portola Valley, CA home back in late June at the age of 80 after a long career in technology with a decided focus on LED technology. We offer this article as a tribute to Haitz's life and accomplishments and the profound impact that Haitz had in solid-state lighting (SSL). Indeed, Haitz foresaw the transition to LED-based lighting long before most and is perhaps most famous for his projection on the progression of LED technology that came to be called Haitz's Law.

Haitz first publicly postulated Haitz's Law at the Strategies in Light conference in 2000. Long considered the parallel of the semiconductor industry's Moore's Law, Haitz's Law asserted an exponential increase in lumen output from packaged LEDs and a corresponding reduction in dollar per lumen. Moreover, Haitz projected that SSL products would reach efficacy of 200 lm/W by 2020. The projections have proven very accurate through the evolution of LED technology over the last 15 years.