News Article
LED efficiency 'boosted 20%'
New manufacturing process could boost LED efficiency.
Research carried out by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has shown how new manufacturing processes could boost light-emitting diode (LED) efficiency by 20 per cent.
Technology Review reported that by combining yellow-green with other coloured LEDs and by utilising solar module manufacturing techniques, the energy efficiency of creating white light products could be improved by 20 per cent.
A breakthrough came when scientists were able to layer indium and gallium nitride compound semiconductors to bridge the gap between different sized crystals, thereby improving efficiency over phosphor-based LED designs.
Angelo Mascarenhas, team leader for solid-state spectroscopy in the Centre for Basic Sciences at NREL, stated: "If you try to do it in one shot, the whole thing will be defective. You have to grow a sequence of layers in a step-wise fashion."
NREL is the primary laboratory for research into renewable energy and energy efficiency in the US. It began operating as the Solar Energy Research Institute in 1977, but later changed its name in 1991.
Technology Review reported that by combining yellow-green with other coloured LEDs and by utilising solar module manufacturing techniques, the energy efficiency of creating white light products could be improved by 20 per cent.
A breakthrough came when scientists were able to layer indium and gallium nitride compound semiconductors to bridge the gap between different sized crystals, thereby improving efficiency over phosphor-based LED designs.
Angelo Mascarenhas, team leader for solid-state spectroscopy in the Centre for Basic Sciences at NREL, stated: "If you try to do it in one shot, the whole thing will be defective. You have to grow a sequence of layers in a step-wise fashion."
NREL is the primary laboratory for research into renewable energy and energy efficiency in the US. It began operating as the Solar Energy Research Institute in 1977, but later changed its name in 1991.
