Trends

Technology | Dec 30, 1969

Electrical Considerations of LED Bulbs

Governments all over the world regulated the future use of the inefficient incandescent lamps. For example, the member states of the European Union agreed to a phasing out of incandescent lamps by 2012. The initial European-wide ban applies the first step to “nondirectional” light bulbs. The first types of bulbs to be banned are frosted (non-clear) bulbs and clear bulbs over 100 W, which will be phased out completely by September 2009. The power limit will be moved down to lower wattages, and the efficiency levels raised by the end of 2012. Read more »

Technology | Dec 30, 1969

High Quality GaN Substrates for Modern LED Technology

It is well known that modern III-nitride based technologies for light emitting diode (LED) production include (as an initial inevitable step) the preparation of GaN templates. Such GaN templates are usually delivered on foreign substrates possessing high lattice mismatch with respect to GaN layers, e.g., sapphire or silicon carbide substrates. The growth of GaN layers on highly mismatched substrates occurs via the formation of 3D islands with their following coalescence [1]. Such growth mode results in an extremely high density of threading dislocations (TDs) up to 1010–1011 cm–2 in the layer interior [1]. These TDs are known as main sources for the deleterious performance of LEDs and other GaN based electronic and optoelectronic devices [2]. Therefore there exists an ultimate necessity in the developing of effective and low-cost recipes for low TD density GaN template manufacturing. Read more »

Technology | Dec 30, 1969

Microstructured Optics for LED Applications

Optics for use with Light Emitting Diodes are described. Microstructured optics are available and customizable for a wide variety of applications. A few of these will be touched on. A methodology of designing these optics and the photometrics of the typical technology is overviewed. Read more »