What is LED
Light-emitting diode (LED) is a widely used standard source of light in electrical equipment. It has a wide range of applications ranging from flashlight to large advertising billboards. They mostly find applications in devices that show the time and display different types of data.
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when an electric current flows through it. When current passes through an LED, the electrons recombine with holes emitting light in the process. LEDs allow the current to flow in the forward direction and blocks the current in the reverse direction.
Light-emitting diodes are heavily doped p-n junctions. Based on the semiconductor material used and the amount of doping, an LED will emit a colored light at a particular spectral wavelength when forward biased. As shown in the figure, an LED is encapsulated with a transparent cover so that emitted light can come out.
LED Symbol
The LED symbol is the standard symbol for a diode, with the addition of two small arrows denoting the emission of light.
Simple LED circuit
The figure below shows a simple LED circuit.
The circuit consists of an LED, a voltage supply and a resistor to regulate the current and voltage.
How does a LED work?
When the diode is forward biased, the minority electrons are sent from p → n while the minority holes are sent from n → p. At the junction boundary, the concentration of minority carriers increases. The excess minority carriers at the junction recombine with the majority charges carriers.
The energy is released in the form of photons on recombination. In standard diodes, the energy is released in the form of heat. But in light-emitting diodes, the energy is released in the form of photons. We call this phenomenon electroluminescence. Electroluminescence is an optical phenomenon, and electrical phenomenon where a material emits light in response to an electric current passed through it. As the forward voltage increases, the intensity of the light increases and reaches a maximum.
Post time: Jul-14-2022