Sharp heads $2.4 million photonic LED program
A UK team lead by Sharp Laboratories Europe has just embarked on a two year £1.2 million ($2.4 million) project to develop photonic crystal GaN LEDs for backlighting LCD displays.
Working in conjunction with the University of Glasgow, the Institute of Photonics, and Mesophotonics, Sharp is hoping to make 405 nm LEDs incorporating quasi photonic crystal (QPC) structures that could be used alongside red and green LEDs to make dynamic backlights.
Sharp's role in the project, which has received half of its funding from UK's Department of Trade and Industry, is to provide GaN material and expertise in system-level integration.
The University of Glasgow, and the Institute of Photonics, which is located in the same city, will carry out all the device fabrication. Mesophotonics, a spin-out of the University of Southampton, will provide design and modeling of the quasi photonic crystal (QPC) structures.
The researchers are aiming to produce QPC structures that maximize light extraction, and emit radiation in an appropriate exit cone for maximum light utilization.
The mass-fabrication technology developed in the project could also extend beyond the production of ultra-high-brightness LEDs, and assist commercialization of next-generation nano-photonic and nano-electronic devices.
