Blue LED lighting revolution triggered a second time

Release Time：2014-03-05

Now, we can see LED (light emitting diode) of the "shadows": it flashes in front of our computers; expose their smiling faces in the neon city; it is dark in the beam of a flashlight new; also formed a square TV wall ...... central city and the world's brilliance comes from the hard work of scientists. 

According to the official Nobel website news, Japanese scientists Isamu Akasaki, Amano ho and Japanese-American scientist Shuji Nakamura for his invention of "high-brightness blue light-emitting diode" won the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics, The Nobel committee said in a statement, the three winners in the invention of new efficient and environmentally friendly light source, namely the blue LED has made tremendous contributions. Borrowed blue LED, white can be created in new ways. Use LED lights, we can have a more lasting and efficient lighting to replace the original light source, not only can save a lot of energy for mankind, but also to illuminate more places worldwide. 

Blue LED, long overdue 

1907, in the UK electronics company Marconi British engineer Henry Joseph - Fort for the first time in a silicon carbide crystals in the observed electroluminescence phenomenon. His two contact between a voltage applied to the silicon carbide crystals found: at a low voltage, can be seen yellow; while at high voltages, can see more colors of light, this "power luminescence "phenomenon also laid the physical basis LED was invented. 

1962, American General Electric Company ordinary 34-year-old researcher Nick Ho 伦亚克 invention that can emit red visible light LED, his name is also up along with the red LED is red. Since the invention of what 伦亚克 was later widely used, it is generally referred to him as "the father of light-emitting diodes." 1972, where 伦亚克 student George Crawford standing on the shoulders of giants, invented the first one orange light LED, the brightness is 10 times the previous red LED, which marks the LED luminous efficiency to improve direction of the first step. 

By the late 1970s, LED has appeared in red, orange, yellow, green, green and other colors, and used machine instrument display light, but still no blue LED. Because the three primary colors of light contains deletions of red, green, blue, light blue, and a white light source so that the lighting can not always be obtained. The market value of the huge blue LED, was also the problem of worldwide research, cited numerous scientific heroes bow in homage. 

1973, when Japan's Matsushita Electric Corporation Tokyo Institute of Isamu Akasaki earliest start a blue LED research. Later, Isamu Akasaki Hiroshi Amano cooperation and blue LED's basic research at Nagoya University, in 1989 for the first time successfully developed a blue LED. 

1993, 39-year-old Nakamura at Nichia Chemical of Japan (Nichia Corporation) working two finally invented gallium nitride and indium gallium nitride-based commercial applications of blue LED, which triggered a new revolution in lighting technology. With this invention, he was awarded the 2006 Millennium Technology Prize, which is equivalent to the scientific community Nobel! Soon after, people joined in the blue LED on the basis of the yellow phosphor, you get white light LED, using this phosphor technology can produce any color of light LED (such as purple light pink shade). Blue and white LED appears to broaden the LED applications, make full-color LED display, LED lighting and other applications possible. 

Promising young 

Currently, lighting technology is experiencing an unprecedented change, that is, from light bulbs and fluorescent to LED change. 1879, American inventor Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, early in 1882 spring, the first practical incandescent lamp has finally come out, it brings to light and joy to millions of households, Edison incandescent lamp is the most brilliant contribution to mankind one. Edison invented the incandescent lamp but also has the disadvantage that its efficiency is very low, approximately equal to 16 lumens / watt, equivalent to only 4% of the electrical energy into light energy. 1900, Peter Cooper - Hewitt invented the fluorescent lamp in its efficiency up to 70 lm / watt. The white LED is currently more than 300 lm / W, 

White LED for lighting is often based on a high-brightness blue LED on, which can stimulate a fluorescent phosphor, and the blue light is converted into white light. These high quality LED life of up to 100,000 hours, compared to fluorescent lifetime is one of its great, but its one hundredth of incandescent life. Gradually reduce the cost of white LED market is also rapidly expanding. In the near future, the three-color LED may be replaced a combination of a blue LED and a fluorescent phosphor for high brightness lighting, this technology will allow us to control the color composition of the dynamic. Now, we can see a variety of new colors, such as pink, light green, and the LED market. 

In addition, given the lighting accounted for 20% -30% of the world's entire energy consumption, and the new white LED power consumption is only one-tenth of an ordinary light bulb, so use white LED can save a lot of energy for mankind. Meanwhile, due to the long life of the LED 100,000 hours, and 1,000 hours of incandescent bulbs and fluorescent lamps compared to 10,000 hours, LED and help save the material consumption. 

Today, gallium nitride-based LED has become a lot of mobile phones, tablet computers, computer monitors, TV screens and other key technical back-illuminated LCD display. GaN emits blue light and UV diode lasers are also used in the high-density DVD, greatly promoted the development of music, pictures and movies storage technologies. The future, people may be able to use hair aluminum gallium nitride UV / GaN LED to purify water, because ultraviolet light to kill bacteria, viruses and microbial DNA. In addition, the lack of power of the world's population will be over 1.5 billion, LED lights appear to bring them hope, because LED's low power consumption, some of the cheap solar energy is enough to power it. 

Although only 20 years old, but the blue LED to bring a great deal of human well-being, but also to achieve a Nobel prize founder Alfred Nobel's wishes for the benefit of mankind, indeed deserved winners. The Nobel Committee said in a statement on the award-winning achievements that: "Incandescent light up the 20th century, then the 21st century will be illuminated by LED lights." 

LED in the end be able to develop far unknown. Maybe one day I will be able to develop can send X-rays LED. LED lights can only be applied early, calculators and digital watches display, but now began to appear in the field of ultra-brightness. High-power LED devices are currently emerging LED products, mainly used in lighting, but the technology is not yet mature, mainly because of high power, high brightness LED though, but the heat is also large, "worth a lot of money." 

From the proposed 1907 semiconductor PN junction light-emitting theory to today LED technology everywhere, experienced a period of more than a century, many scientists, including Isamu Akasaki, Amano ho and Shuji Nakamura, second, including for the development of LED paid a huge effort , LED brings economic and social benefits will be unmatched.

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