By Scott Watson

Light emitting diodes (LEDs) have continued to be greatly used in the electronic world.  There’s a lot you need to know about their designs and functions.  They have continued to be used in the manufacturing of gadgets, mobile devices and other tiny and large electronics. To know more about the LEDs there’s a need to unravel their interior components.  This is exactly the major focus of this write-up.

Getting to know the inside sections of LEDs can be very educating.  The interior construction of such devises is worth knowing especially if you’re interested in knowing more about their designs.  When you succeed in knowing more about the interior  aspect, you can easily understand why they are designed in diverse ways.  You’ll also understand why such devices last for a very longtime before they get spoilt.

In any case, the focus here is on LEDs made of phosphorus. They are used as point of departure for  studying the LED interior.  From the information you’ll gather in the discourse, you’ll get to know more about other types of LEDs as well.

The Inside of a LED
Actually, many of the devices used by electronic engineers are made of silicon.  Among such devices include transistors, diodes, microprocessors, logic gates and so on.   Engineers also make use of LEDs but, the issue is that LEDs are not made of silicon just like many other devices.  This is true because silicon elements don’t have the capacity to emit light.

LEDs are simply made of varieties of semiconductors.  Lots of elements are also used in manufacturing them.  This has led to the invention of different types of LEDs.  Over the years, different kinds of manufacturers have come into the business.  Today, different kinds of LEDs are used in manufacturing different kinds of gadgets and devices.  This means that changes are bound to occur in the manufacturing of gadgets and devices.  The gadget or device you purchase today is likely to assume a different shape or design tomorrow.  This is actually the scenario in the electronic industry.   Many TVs, projectors, and other devices made in a couple of years ago have all been modified in the recent times.  They keep changing as more inventions are made in the electronic industry.

As for LEDs, several changes are also noticed on their make-up.  Actually, the semiconductor element in an LED is known to be relatively large.  This element usually emits light in most white LEDs. Actually, the inherent blue color is converted into white light as the white light also comes up without hitches. The conversion process is very elaborate. It even varies as there are various manufacturers of LEDs in the recent times.

Meanwhile the conversion of the blue color in an LED to white light is usually accomplished when a phosphor is used.  This is simply a complex molecule that absorbs the blue light being emitted by the LED.  The phosphor picks up the blue light and radiates it over a band of some other colors before turning everything to white light.  Actually, it takes up to 2 or 3 different phosphors to make up a complete white color.  The phosphors have to blend well to produce the needed output.  The entire conversion process is quite awesome.

Meanwhile, there are several ways of using the phosphor elements in generating the white LED. Some manufacturers actually put the element directly on top of the die with the silicone is on top.   When the phosphor element is put on the die, blue light will increase.  The temperature of the   phosphor will also reduce when it’s put on the silicone. This causes the blue light to reduce during the conversion process.  Hence, the conversion of the blue light to white depends on the approach the manufacturer decides to use.  Any useful approach can be used provided the needed  output is realized.

Meanwhile, some LEDs do come with optics in their various packages.  Sometimes, this assumes the form of a mirror or lens.  The optics can be used in increasing light extraction. It can also be used in shaping how the light is emitted.

From the above description, you can discover that LEDs are very complicated devices. They seem to be very small, but, their interior sections undergo series of processes before they are finally manufactured.

Are LEDs  good for every Application?
Having grabbed some pieces of information about the interior sections of LEDs, you need to know whether they are good for every application or not.  Actually, LEDs can be used everywhere for diverse purposes. However, they don’t really work or serve in all applications. They can work in some applications but certainly not in all.  In any case, LEDs are currently increasing in their efficacy and functionality. They are also becoming very cheaper by the day.  It’s expected that many applications will come to benefit more from the LEDs as they continue to evolve.  

In the near future,   fluorescent tubes are likely to become outdated as many quality LEDs are produced.  You may never border about using   the normal fluorescent bulbs any more when you have a powerful LED that can serve you for years.  In any case, incandescent bulbs will still be around for many years to come. LEDs may not be able to make them obsolete since they still serve great purposes.  Actually, candles and kerosene lamps were replaced by incandescent bulbs.  Later on fluorescent tubes replaced the incandescent bulbs.  Now, there are indications that LEDs will replace both the incandescent bulbs and the fluorescent bulbs as technology evolves. 

What then should be the next level after LEDs?  There’s strong indication that Organic Light Emitting Diodes “OLEDs” will topple the normal LEDs in usage.   The OLEDs use organic elements unlike the normally LEDs that use inorganic elements.  The OLEDs are still evolving. While we wait for their full arrival to the electronic industry, the normal LEDs still remain very useful in light production. They are wonderful devices that can serve great purposes.