How Light Emitting Diodes Work

by Tom Harris; http://www.howstuffworks.com/led.htm/ Light emitting diodes, commonly called LEDs, are real unsun heroes in the electronics world. They do do!ens of different "obs and are found in all kinds of de#ices. $mon other thin s, they form the numbers on di ital clocks, transmit information from remote controls, li ht up watches and tell you when your appliances are turned on. %ollected to ether, they can form ima es on a "umbo tele#ision screen or illuminate a traffic li ht. &asically, LEDs are "ust tiny li ht bulbs that fit easily into an electrical circuit. &ut unlike ordinary incandescent bulbs, they don't ha#e a filament that will burn out, and they don't et especially hot. They are illuminated solely by the mo#ement of electrons in a semiconductor material, and they last "ust as lon as a standard transistor. (n this article, we'll e)amine the simple principles behind these ubi*uitous blinkers, illuminatin some cool principles of electricity and li ht in the process.

What is a Diode?
$ diode is the simplest sort of semiconductor de#ice. &roadly speakin , a semiconductor is a material with a #aryin ability to conduct electrical current. +ost semiconductors are made of a poor conductor that has had impurities ,atoms of another material- added to it. The process of addin impurities is called doping. (n the case of LEDs, the conductor material is typically aluminum-gallium-arsenide ,$l.a$s-. (n pure aluminum/ allium/arsenide, all of the atoms bond perfectly to their nei hbors, lea#in no free electrons ,ne ati#ely/char ed particles- to conduct electric current. (n doped material, additional atoms chan e the balance, either addin free electrons or creatin holes where electrons can o. Either of these additions make the material more conducti#e. $ semiconductor with e)tra electrons is called N-type material, since it has e)tra ne ati#ely/char ed particles. (n 0/type material, free electrons mo#e from a ne ati#ely/ char ed area to a positi#ely char ed area.

$ semiconductor with e)tra holes is called P-type material, since it effecti#ely has e)tra positi#ely/char ed particles. Electrons can "ump from hole to hole, mo#in from a ne ati#ely/char ed area to a positi#ely/char ed area. $s a result, the holes themsel#es appear to mo#e from a positi#ely/char ed area to a ne ati#ely/char ed area. $ diode comprises a section of 0/type material bonded to a section of 1/type material, with electrodes on each end. This arran ement conducts electricity in only one direction. 2hen no #olta e is applied to the diode, electrons from the 0/type material fill holes from the 1/type material alon the junction between the layers, formin a depletion zone. (n a depletion !one, the semiconductor material is returned to its ori inal insulating state // all of the holes are filled, so there are no free electrons or empty spaces for electrons, and char e can't flow.

At the junction, free electrons from the N-ty e material fill holes from the !-ty e material" #his creates an insulating layer in the middle of the diode called the de letion $one"

To et rid of the depletion !one, you ha#e to et electrons mo#in from the 0/type area to the 1/type area and holes mo#in in the re#erse direction. To do this, you connect the 0/type side of the diode to the ne ati#e end of a circuit and the 1/type side to the positi#e end. The free electrons in the 0/type material are repelled by the ne ati#e electrode and drawn to the positi#e electrode. The holes in the 1/type material mo#e the other way. 2hen the #olta e difference between the electrodes is hi h enou h, the electrons in the depletion !one are boosted out of their holes and be in mo#in freely a ain. The depletion !one disappears, and char e mo#es across the diode.

When the negati%e end of the circuit is hooked u to the N-ty e layer and the ositi%e end is hooked u to !-ty e layer, electrons and holes start mo%ing and the de letion $one disa ears"

(f you try to run current the other way, with the 1/type side connected to the ne ati#e end of the circuit and the 0/type side connected to the positi#e end, current will not flow. The ne ati#e electrons in the 0/type material are attracted to the positi#e electrode. The positi#e holes in the 1/type material are attracted to the ne ati#e electrode. 0o current flows across the "unction because the holes and the electrons are each mo#in in the wron direction. The depletion !one increases. ,3ee How 3emiconductors 2ork for more information on the entire process.-

When the ositi%e end of the circuit is hooked u to the Nty e layer and the negati%e end is hooked u to the !-ty e layer, free electrons collect on one end of the diode and holes collect on the other" #he de letion $one gets &igger"

The interaction between electrons and holes in this setup has an interestin side effect // it enerates light4 (n the ne)t section, we'll find out e)actly why this is.

How 'an a Diode !roduce Light?

Li ht is a form of ener y that can be released by an atom. (t is made up of many small particle/like packets that ha#e ener y and momentum but no mass. These particles, called photons, are the most basic units of li ht. 1hotons are released as a result of mo#in electrons. (n an atom, electrons mo#e in orbitals around the nucleus. Electrons in different orbitals ha#e different amounts of ener y. .enerally speakin , electrons with reater ener y mo#e in orbitals farther away from the nucleus. 5or an electron to "ump from a lower orbital to a hi her orbital, somethin has to boost its ener y le#el. %on#ersely, an electron releases ener y when it drops from a hi her orbital to a lower one. This ener y is released in the form of a photon. $ reater ener y drop releases a hi her/ener y photon, which is characteri!ed by a higher frequency. ,%heck out How Li ht 2orks for a full e)planation.$s we saw in the last section, free electrons mo#in across a diode can fall into empty holes from the 1/type layer. This in#ol#es a drop from the conduction band to a lower orbital, so the electrons release ener y in the form of photons. This happens in any diode, but you can only see the photons when the diode is composed of certain material. The atoms in a standard silicon diode, for e)ample, are arran ed in such a way that the electron drops a relati#ely short distance. $s a result, the photon's fre*uency is so low that it is in#isible to the human eye // it is in the infrared portion of the li ht spectrum. This isn't necessarily a bad thin , of course: (nfrared LEDs are ideal for remote controls, amon other thin s. Visible light-emitting diodes ,6LEDs-, such as the ones that li ht up numbers in a di ital clock, are made of materials characteri!ed by a wider ap between the conduction band and the lower orbitals. The si!e of the ap determines the fre*uency of the photon // in other words, it determines the color of the li ht. 2hile all diodes release li ht, most don't do it #ery effecti#ely. (n an ordinary diode, the semiconductor material itself ends up absorbin a lot of the li ht ener y. LEDs are specially constructed to release a lar e number of photons outward. $dditionally, they are housed in a plastic bulb that concentrates the li ht in a particular direction. $s you can see in the dia ram, most of the li ht from the diode bounces off the sides of the bulb, tra#elin on throu h the rounded end.

LEDs ha#e se#eral ad#anta es o#er con#entional incandescent lamps. 5or one thin , they don't ha#e a filament that will burn out, so they last much lon er. $dditionally, their small plastic bulb makes them a lot more durable. They also fit more easily into modern electronic circuits. &ut the main ad#anta e is efficiency. (n con#entional incandescent bulbs, the li ht/ production process in#ol#es eneratin a lot of heat ,the filament must be warmed-. This is completely wasted ener y, unless you're usin the lamp as a heater, because a hu e portion of the a#ailable electricity isn't oin toward producin #isible li ht. LEDs enerate #ery little heat, relati#ely speakin . $ much hi her percenta e of the electrical power is oin directly to eneratin li ht, which cuts down on the electricity demands considerably. 7p until recently, LEDs were too e)pensi#e to use for most li htin applications because they're built around ad#anced semiconductor material. The price of semiconductor de#ices has plummeted o#er the past decade, howe#er, makin LEDs a more cost/ effecti#e li htin option for a wide ran e of situations. 2hile they may be more e)pensi#e than incandescent li hts up front, their lower cost in the lon run can make them a better buy. (n the future, they will play an e#en bi er role in the world of technolo y.