Understanding LED Illumination

  2  LED Lighting Devices

2.1  Introduction

This chapter elaborates on the core or the engine of an LED lamp, which is a particular type of semiconductor diode that produces light when it is forward biased. In the 1950s, the development of inorganic semiconductors was rapidly expanding for electronics as scientists and engineers recognized the potential of p–n junction diode devices for compact integrated circuits. Around this time, many researchers also delved into theoretical and experimental investigations of optical properties of these junction devices in a variety of semiconductor materials, looking to demonstrate efficient radiation emission and explore interesting applications.

A series of discoveries involving optical emission from ...