Here he invented, fabricated, and demonstrated the first visible light laser diode on October 9, 1962. He grew crystals of the alloy GaAs 0.60 P 0.40; a GaAs laser diode that worked in the infrared had recently been demonstrated by his General Electric colleague Robert N. Hall.OverviewNick Holonyak Jr. (November 3, 1928 – September 18, 2022) was an American. He is noted particularly for his 1962 invention and first demonstration of a semiconductor that. Nick Holonyak Jr. was born on November 3, 1928, in, to immigrants. His father worked in a. Holonyak was the first member of his family to receive any type of formal schooling.