LED 101

We often hear or use the term LED. But do we really know what those are? And to what extent they are used today? This text offers a bit of context on these marvelous light fixtures, useful for anything from signaling that your phone is done charging, to solar led parking lot lights, aircraft lights and more.

LED

LED is an acronym which stands for Light Emitting Diode. It works on the principle of electroluminescence, meaning that it emits light when electricity is applied. When the current is flowing, the electrons move, and the protons are released. The color of the light emitted depends on the band gap of the material the semiconductor in the LED is made of.

History

LEDs haven't been with us for long, but they have existed more than most of us assume. They first came into use in the 60s. However, you wouldn't have been able to see the light emitted by the first LEDs, since it was infra-red, below the spectrum of light visible by humans. However, this part of the spectrum was useful for the first remote controllers (and is still used for this purpose). The first visible light LEDs came into existence soon after. However, these diodes were always very dim and limited to the lower end of the visible spectrum, i.e. red and orange.

Improvements

As a promising field of technology, LED market saw many improvements over the fifty -year long existence. One such achievement was the creation of the blue LED in the early 70s. However, these lights were again pretty dim, and only in the 90s did that change, when a bright blue diode was introduced. This moved the LEDs from the red part of the spectrum and the limited usefulness as indicator lights and the like. However, the real breakthrough came when the white light was first attained by a LED.

White LEDs

The white light of the first LEDs came through trickery, rather than through superior technology. The bright blue LED was simply coated in a substance which absorbs some of the blue light and produces yellow light via fluorescence. This yellow light mixes with the remaining blue light to produce a white. However, red and green illuminated by this light source was pretty difficult to discern, so it wasn't very useful. However, different coatings were able to produce red and green lights in addition to the blue diode light. This mixture gave a more natural white. With some refinement these lights started replacing incandescent lights all over the world.

Current Technologies

This field of technology never sleeps and is constantly refining the final product, whether by adding power or finding new uses for them. One such innovative technology is OLED, or Organic LED. OLED devices do not necessarily have the shape of a typical LED. The electro-conductive material is made from an organic compound. This technology is great for displays, because it doesn't need much energy (compared to a regular LED), and because it can display high contrasts.

Greenshine New Energy is a company which has focused on a different aspect of the LED technology. Combining the high-power white LED lights with the state-of-the-art solar technology, we have managed to offer a sustainable and affordable alternative to electrical grid lighting. The prime example of our success is the solar LED parking lot lights project which requires just a small initial investment and offers free energy for lighting parking lots. Contact us today to learn more about the products and services offered.