Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs):

LED history dates back many more

years than many people imagine.
LED history dates back to the
beginnings of radio and electronics.
While LEDs have now been
available since the 1960s, the LED
history extends many years before
this. The LED took many years to
develop for a number of reasons the first discoveries were well
ahead
of
their
time,
other
discoveries were lost. It was only
when
the
technology
was
sufficiently mature that the LED
could be fully developed and
marketed. Even after the first
devices appeared, LED history was
not finished - new developments

have been made and LEDs are

addressing new markets, never
really envisaged before.
Early LED history
The first recorded effects of the
light emitting diode effect were
noticed back at the beginning of
the twentieth century. A British
engineer named H J Round working
for Marconi was undertaking some
experiments
using
crystal
detectors. At the time radio
detectors were one of the major
limiting factors within the early
wireless of radio sets.
The early detectors were often
made by using a small piece of
material - we would now know
them as forms of semiconductor and placing a small wire onto the

surface. These were called "Cat's

Whiskers" for obvious reasons. In
trying to investigate the effects
and improve their performance,
Round had passed a current
through some of his detectors. He
noted that one of them emitted
light when a current was passed
through it. Although he did not
understand the mechanism for the
effect, he published his findings in
1907 in a magazine of the day
named Electrical World.
Commercial LED history
The first commercially available
LEDs started to appear in the
late/mid 1960s. These LEDs early
LEDs used a semiconductor made
using
gallium,
arsenic
and
phosphorus - GaAsP. This produced

a red light, and although the

efficiency of the devices was low
(typically around 1 - 10 mcd at
20mA) they started to be widely
used as indicators on equipment.
One of the first companies to
manufacture LEDs on any scale
was Monsanto. Monsanto was
actually a company supplying the
raw semiconductor materials. They
had aimed at working with Hewlett
Packard - then a test equipment
company
with
Monsanto
supplying the semiconductor and
Hewlett Packard manufacturing the
diodes. However the relationship
did not work out and Monsanto
ended up developing the LEDs
themselves.
[The
name
of
Monsanto is not seen today. The

business was sold in

General Instrument.]

1979

to

With the original GaAsP devices

being manufactured, the next
development
saw
gallium
phosphide devices developed. GaP
devices were not widely used
because the light they produced
was at the far end of the red
spectrum where the sensitivity of
the human eye is low, and even
though they produced a high
output, the human perception was
of a dim light.
LEDs are available in many colors
from visual Infrared, through the
visible spectrum and into the near
Ultraviolet. They are often listed as
UV when they are really purple. It is

hard to blame vendors for this as

eBay lumps the two categories
together. Most LEDs are made in
China. Their color is very pure
compared to incandescent bulbs.
They can be turned on and off
frequently without harming them,
unlike fluorescent bulbs. It is
normal for vendors to use
superlatives like "superbright",
"Ultrabright", "Megabright" and so
forth in their listings. You should
completely ignore these words,
they mean nothing here.
Millicandelas (mcd) are the unit of
brightness most often cited in
listings. Millicandelas are measured
at a single point directly in front of
of the LED. This is great if you only
need a tiny point of light, but
makes it difficult to meaningfully

compare different LEDs. Lumens

refer to the total amount of light
put out by any light. Unfortunately
many LED listings do not list this
measurement
You could for example, have one
LED that emitted 10 lumens of
light, but spread them over a 100
degree angle. If you put this next
to a LED that only emitted 1 lumen
(one tenth as much light), but
concentrates it into a 10 degree
beam, both would have the same
mcd rating.
LEDs are tiny little things that
weigh almost nothing. Extravagant
shipping fees are standard. It is
common to pay $15 shipping for an
order that could easily travel in a
first class envelope.

Advantages :Physically small. Long life. 100,000

hours, or ten years, is a figure often
given for half life. Any light will dim
with time. LEDs tend to dim very
slowly. They will last even longer
and be even more efficient when
under driven (run with less than full
power). They are essentially
immune to cold, shock, and
vibration. They have low energy
consumption. They turn on and off
more quickly than incandescent
bulbs, which is useful for brake
lights.

Disadvantages:
The beam tends to be more
directional than that of an
incandescent bulb. They are
sensitive to small variations in
current. A small increase in current
can drastically shorten their life
expectancy. 3, 5, and 10 mm LEDs
won't melt themselves out from
under snow like incandescent
bulbs.
They have less "throw" than an
incandescent bulb. They have a
higher initial cost. There can be
variation within and between
batches. At this time they are not
good for high output applications
such as headlights and area
lighting.

Common sizes:

SMD (Surface Mount Device)

Little tiny LEDs too small for normal

people to solder.
3 mm, 5 mm, 10 mm
bullet shaped, number refers to
diameter of LED in millimeters. Has
two leads at the flat end of the
bullet. Very common.

Spider/Piranha

Flat square LEDs with four pins on

the bottom. Usually have a wide
beam. The extra legs give them
extra mechanical stability.1 watt, 3
watt, 5 watt.
*"High Power" LEDs These units
need to have a heat sink or they
will overheat and burn out. These

are the brightest LEDs currently in

production
LED colour:Obviously the colour is a major LED
specification or LED parameter.
LEDS tend to provide a single
colour. The light emission extends
over a relatively narrow light
spectrum.
The colour emitted by an LED is
specified in terms of its peak
wavelength
(lpk)
i.e.
the
wavelength which has the peak
light output. This is measured in
nanometers (nm).
The colour of the LED, i.e. the peak
wavelength of the emission from

the LED is a function mainly of the

chip material and its fabrication.
Typically process variations give
peak wavelength variations of up
to 10nm.
When choosing colours within the
LED specification, it is worth
remembering that the human eye
is most sensitive to hue or colour
variations is around the yellow /
orange area of the spectrum around 560 to 600 nm. This may
affect the choice of colour, or
position of LEDs if this could be a
problem.