What is LED (light emitting diode)?

LED: Light Emitting Diode. It is a semiconductor diode that emits light when charged with electricity. They come in diverse colors and some LEDs even contain multiple elements and are therefore capable of emitting light with different colors.

LEDs are used for displays, keypad or backlight, etc. Bright white LEDs also can be used as flashlights and flashes for mobile phones.

Advantages of LED:

Compared with common light bulbs, LED has so many advantages.

● Compact size: LED is basically a small chip is encapsulated inside the epoxy resin, so it is very small and lightweight.

● Low voltage: In general, LED’s operating voltage is 2-3.6V, which consumes less power. It can be luminous normally with only a weak current.

● Long lifetime: Under proper current and voltage, LED’s lifetime can be up to 100,000 hours.

● High brightness, low heat: By adopting cold light technology, the heat value of LED is much lower than the ordinary lighting with same power.

● Environmental protection: LED is composed of non-toxic materials, unlike fluorescent lamps containing mercury, which can cause pollution, while LED can also be recycled.

Main LED materials:

The main semiconductor materials used to manufacture LEDs are:

● Indium gallium nitride (InGaN): blue, green and ultraviolet high-brightness LEDs.

● Aluminum gallium indium phosphide (AlGaInP): yellow, orange and red high-brightness LEDs.

● Aluminum gallium arsenide (AlGaAs): red and infrared LEDs.

● Gallium phosphide (GaP): yellow and green LEDs.