LED is the English acronym for Light Emitting Diode, which in Portuguese means light emitting diode. It is a semiconductor electronic device that emits light when an electrical current passes through it. LED is a highly efficient light source as it converts almost all electrical energy into light, unlike incandescent lamps which emit a large amount of heat.

LEDs are used in a wide variety of applications, including residential and commercial lighting, electronics, signage, display screens, automotive, and many others. They are available in a variety of colors and sizes, and have a long lifespan and low power consumption, making them a popular choice for many applications.

Nick Holonyak Jr – Inventor of LEDs

When was the first LED created?

The first LED (light-emitting diode) was created in 1962 by Nick Holonyak Jr., an American electrical engineer who worked at General Electric. The LED created by Holonyak emitted red light and was constructed from a gallium arsenide semiconductor material doped with aluminum.

Although the first LED was created in 1962, its commercial application only became viable a few years later, when LEDs in other colors, such as yellow and green, were developed and manufacturing techniques were improved.

Today, LEDs are used in a wide variety of applications, from residential and commercial lighting to electronics, signage, display screens and more. Advances in LED technology have also led to the creation of high-power LEDs, which are capable of producing enough light to replace incandescent and fluorescent lamps.

Where is the LED used?

LEDs are used in a wide variety of applications due to their advantages over other light sources. Some of the main applications of LED include:

We have mentioned just a few of the applications of LED, as its versatility and energy efficiency are leading to new applications in a wide variety of sectors.

Which components generate the colors of the LEDs?

The colors of LEDs (light-emitting diodes) are generated using special semiconductor materials that emit light when an electrical current is applied. The semiconductor materials used determine the color of the light emitted by the LED.

Color LEDs are produced using different semiconductor materials, the most common of which are:

White LEDs are produced in two main ways: using a blue LED with a phosphor coating to convert some of the light to white light or combining light from three primary color LEDs (red, green and blue) in a single package to produce light white.

The different colors of LEDs are generated through the combination of different semiconductor materials and/or phosphor coatings, which emit light at specific wavelengths when an electrical current is applied.

RGB LEDs

RGB LEDs (red, green, and blue light-emitting diodes) are made up of three separate LEDs encapsulated in a single device. Each of these LEDs emits a primary color of light (red, green, and blue), and together these primary colors can be combined to produce a wide variety of colors. RGB LEDs are widely used in lighting, display and signage applications where a wide range of colors in a single device is desirable. There are two main ways to build an RGB LED:

Regardless of the type of RGB LED, you need to control the intensity of each primary color to produce the desired color. This is usually done using electronic circuits, such as LED controllers, that adjust the voltage and current applied to each LED to produce the desired color.