LRC, Evident develop quantum-dot white LEDs
Material containing cadmium selenide quantum dots will be used as the downconverter in combination with GaN-based LED chips to fabricate white LEDs.
Evident Technologies, which like the LRC is based in Troy, NY, will produce quantum dot nanomaterials with tunable color properties. Clinton Ballinger, CEO of Evident Technologies, said that quantum dot nanomaterials enable the production of white-light LED-based lighting systems that will produce light with better color qualities than current white-light LEDs.
According to Nadarajah Narendran, director of research at the LRC, quantum dots offer the potential for creating continuous-spectra white light. The colors of objects illuminated by continuous-spectra light sources appear truer than those illuminated by current white LED light sources (i.e. the light sources are said to have a higher color rendering index).
Funding for the project comes from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Peter Smith, NYSERDA president, said he hopes the authority s investment in the project will accelerate the replacement of inefficient incandescent and halogen lights in New York State. This, he says, will save residents money on energy bills while protecting the environment by reducing greenhouse gases from fossil-fuel electricity generation in New York State.
LED technology will lead to significant energy cost savings and environmental benefits as solid-state lighting begins to replace incandescent and other low-efficiency lighting sources in residential and commercial buildings.
The LRC s Solid-State Lighting Program conducts research and educational programs to enhance this technology and help it gain acceptance for general illumination purposes. The LRC s multidisciplinary team researches how lighting systems interact; how people perceive and react to lighting conditions; and how to use LEDs to replace less efficient lighting. The ASSIST Program, a collaborative effort by researchers, manufacturers, utilities, and government, works to facilitate broad adoption of LED technology.
