The development of LED lights has had a huge impact on technology and electronics. LED lights might be small, but they play a significant role in technology and in our daily lives. LEDs can be found in everything from tiny flashes of light on electronic devices to LEDs in large clusters that form business signs. They’ve played a significant role in the history and development of electronics and are continuing to improve every day.
Initial Development of LED lights
The development of LED lights is credited to scientist Nick Holonyk in when in 1962 he introduced the first visible LED light. Prior to his work, researchers had focused on infrared lights, which are not visible to the human eye. Holonyk’s first light was red and was only available in one color. Initial use was limited and not practical for many situations. The first LEDs used more energy, burned out quickly and were unable to illuminate large spaces.
Further Development of LED Lights
Developing LED technology to emit a range of colors was a challenge for scientists for many years. Developers knew that using LED lights as the primary lighting source for a room would be unreasonable because early LED light colors were poorly adapted to long-range illumination and undesirable in most settings.
In 1991, Naruhito Iwasa with Nichia Corporation found a way of creating bright white LEDs. After revising and improving his methods, a bright blue LED bulb that was over 100 times brighter was released in 1993, followed by a green version in 1995.
Iwasa’s work propelled LED lights into everyday life where they can now be found traffic lights to offices.
Future Development of LED lights
As the development of LED lights has continued to progress, costs in manufacturing have dropped dramatically. Depending on the color and brightness needed, LED lights have become affordable and easily accessible to most consumers. Electronics are increasingly relying on LED lights as their size becoming thinner and more efficient.
It is anticipated that LED lights will become increasingly powerful in future decades, and as the demand for environmentally friendly products continues to grow, LED lights will continue to be the lighting source of choice.