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  • Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics/Quantum Electronics and Laser Science Conference and Photonic Applications Systems Technologies
  • OSA Technical Digest Series (CD) (Optica Publishing Group, 2007),
  • paper CMF1

Visible LEDs: Past, Present, and Future

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Abstract

In 1907 electroluminescence was observed in Carborundium (SiC) by Henry Round. He found the phenomenon “curious” but had no explanation. Following the 1947 invention of the transistor, and the concept of minority carrier injection, electroluminescence could be explained. In the 1950’s and early 1960’s, following the work of Welker, a number of groups began to investigate III/V compounds. Some work was focused on visible emitters, mostly using GaP, an indirect bandgap semiconductor like SiC, while others were trying to achieve higher voltages and mobilities for tunnel diodes and other electronic devices. Much of this work focused on GaAs, which was known to be a direct bandgap semiconductor, an important characteristic for high efficiency light emission. In 1962 GaAs diode lasers were announced by several groups. Also in 1962, and of critical importance for the future of visible LEDs, red GaAsP direct bangap alloy lasers and LEDs were demonstrated by Holoynak, and later sold commercially by Holonyak at General Electric. Following Holoynak’s pioneering alloy semiconductor work, in the late 1960’s Monsanto and then Hewlett Packard commercialized GaAsP alloy LED’s in high volume. Over the past forty years alloy semiconductor LED’s have continued to evolve at the rate of about 10x efficiency improvement per decade, culminating in today’s very high performance AlInGaP and InGaP devices.

© 2007 Optical Society of America

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