DEFINITION

An LED, which stands for light emitting diode, is a semiconductor diode that glows when a
voltage is applied and they are used everywhere in your electronics, new types of lighting,
and digital television monitors. LED is usually used as an indicator. There are some many
color. The color of light emitted depends on the type of semiconductor material used.

HISTORY
• In 1962, Nick Holonyack, a consulting engineer for General Electric Company, invented
the first visible light LED. It was a red LED and Holonyack had used gallium arsenide
phosphide as a substrate for the diode.
• In 1972, electrical engineer, M George Craford invented the first yellow colored LED for
the Monsanto Company using gallium arsenide phosphide in the diode. Craford also
invented a red LED that was 10 times brighter than Holonyack's.
• In 1976, Thomas P. Pearsall invented a high-efficiency and extremely bright LED for use
in fiber optics and fiber telecommunications. Pearsall invented new semiconductor
materials optimized for optical fiber transmission wavelengths.
• In 1994, Shuji Nakamura invented the first blue LED using gallium nitride.

TYPES
There are different types of light emitting diodes present and some of them are mentioned
below.
• Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) – infra-red
• Gallium Arsenide Phosphide (GaAsP) – red to infra-red, orange
• Aluminium Gallium Arsenide Phosphide (AlGaAsP) – high-brightness red, orange-
red, orange, and yellow
• Gallium Phosphide (GaP) – red, yellow and green
• Aluminium Gallium Phosphide (AlGaP) – green
• Gallium Nitride (GaN) – green, emerald green
• Gallium Indium Nitride (GaInN) – near ultraviolet, bluish-green and blue
• Silicon Carbide (SiC) – blue as a substrate
• Zinc Selenide (ZnSe) – blue
• Aluminium Gallium Nitride (AlGaN) – ultraviolet
MATERIALS

• Epoxy Lens/Case – The epoxy lens has three major functions. First, it is designed to
allow most of the light to escape from the semiconductor. Second, it focuses the light
(view angle) and lastly, it protects the LED semiconductor from outside elements.
• Wire Bond – The wire bond is typically an interconnection between the anode
(positive side) and the cathode (negative side).
• Reflective Cavity – Light extraction in LEDs is one of the most its important aspect.
The reflective cavity’s purpose is to make the LED’s light be brighter by focusing its
light into a single point.
• Semiconductor Die – It is a small block of semiconducting material, on which a given
functional circuit is fabricated. It is the heart of any electronic products and contains a
lot of integrated circuits and full of intelligence associated with it.
• Anvil and Post – There are two leads of an LED that are used to supply input voltage.
The longer lead is positive and known as Post, and the smaller is negative known as
Anvil. So basically, the anvil and the post determines the polarity of the two the leads.
The Anvil is also used to physically hold the chip, provide some heat-sinking, and
provide some directivity to the emitted light.

HOW DOES LED WORK

The light emitting diode simply, we know as a diode. When the diode is forward biased, then
the electrons & holes are moving fast across the junction and they are combining constantly,
removing one another out. Soon after the electrons are moving from the n-type to the p-type
silicon, it combines with the holes, then it disappears. Hence it makes the complete atom &
more stable and it gives the little burst of energy in the form of a tiny packet or photon of
light.

The above diagram shows how the light emitting diode works and the step by step process of
the diagram.
• From the diagram, we can observe that the N-type silicon is in red color and it contains
the electrons, they are indicated by the black circles.
• The P- type silicon is in the blue color and it contains holes, they are indicated by the
white circles.
• The power supply across the p-n junction makes the diode forward biased and pushing
the electrons from n-type to p-type. Pushing the holes in the opposite direction.
• Electron and holes at the junction are combined.
• The photons are given off as the electrons and holes are recombined.

ADVANTAGE AND APPLICATION

Applications of Light Emitting Diodes
There are many applications of the LED and some of them are explained below.
• LED is used as a bulb in the homes and industries
• The light emitting diodes are used in the motorcycles and cars
• These are used in the mobile phones to display the message
• At the traffic light signals led’s are used
Advantages of LED’s
• The cost of LED’s is less and they are tiny.
• By using the LED’s the electricity is controlled.
• The intensity of the LED differs with the help of the microcontroller.