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The Light Emitting Diode

Light Emitting Diodes or simply LED´s, are among the most widely used of all the different types
of semiconductor diodes available today and are commonly used in TV’s and colour displays.

They are the most visible type of diode, that emit a fairly narrow bandwidth of either visible light at
different coloured wavelengths, invisible infra-red light for remote controls or laser type light when a
forward current is passed through them.

The “Light Emitting Diode” or LED as it is more commonly called, is basically just a specialised type of
diode as they have very similar electrical characteristics to a PN junction diode. This means that an
LED will pass current in its forward direction but block the ow of current in the reverse direction.

Light emitting diodes are made from a very thin layer of fairly heavily doped semiconductor material
and depending on the semiconductor material used and the amount of doping, when forward biased
an LED will emit a coloured light at a particular spectral wavelength.

When the diode is forward biased, electrons from the semiconductors conduction band recombine
with holes from the valence band releasing suf cient energy to produce photons which emit a
monochromatic (single colour) of light. Because of this thin layer a reasonable number of these
photons can leave the junction and radiate away producing a coloured light output.

Then we can say that when operated in a forward biased direction Light Emitting Diodes are
semiconductor devices that convert electrical energy into light energy.
The construction of a Light Emitting Diode is very different from that of a
normal signal diode. The PN junction of an LED is surrounded by a transparent,
hard plastic epoxy resin hemispherical shaped shell or body which protects the
LED from both vibration and shock.

Surprisingly, an LED junction does not actually emit that much light so the
epoxy resin body is constructed in such a way that the photons of light emitted
by the junction are re ected away from the surrounding substrate base to
which the diode is attached and are focused upwards through the domed top of
LED Construction
the LED, which itself acts like a lens concentrating the amount of light. This is
why the emitted light appears to be brightest at the top of the LED.

However, not all LEDs are made with a hemispherical shaped dome for their epoxy shell. Some
indication LEDs have a rectangular or cylindrical shaped construction that has a at surface on top or
their body is shaped into a bar or arrow. Generally, all LED’s are manufactured with two legs
protruding from the bottom of the body.

Also, nearly all modern light emitting diodes have their cathode, ( – ) terminal identi ed by either a
notch or at spot on the body or by the cathode lead being shorter than the other as the anode ( + )
lead is longer than the cathode (k).

Unlike normal incandescent lamps and bulbs which generate large amounts of heat when illuminated,
the light emitting diode produces a “cold” generation of light which leads to high ef ciencies than the
normal “light bulb” because most of the generated energy radiates away within the visible spectrum.
Because LEDs are solid-state devices, they can be extremely small and durable and provide much
longer lamp life than normal light sources.

Light Emitting Diode Colours

So how does a light emitting diode get its colour. Unlike normal signal diodes which are made for
detection or power recti cation, and which are made from either Germanium or Silicon
semiconductor materials, Light Emitting Diodes are made from exotic semiconductor compounds
such as Gallium Arsenide (GaAs), Gallium Phosphide (GaP), Gallium Arsenide Phosphide (GaAsP),
Silicon Carbide (SiC) or Gallium Indium Nitride (GaInN) all mixed together at different ratios to
produce a distinct wavelength of colour.

Different LED compounds emit light in speci c regions of the visible light spectrum and therefore
produce different intensity levels. The exact choice of the semiconductor material used will
determine the overall wavelength of the photon light emissions and therefore the resulting colour of
the light emitted.

Light Emitting Diode Colours

 Typical LED Characteristics

Semiconductor
Wavelength Colour VF @ 20mA
Material

GaAs 850-940nm Infra-Red 1.2v

GaAsP 630-660nm Red 1.8v

GaAsP 605-620nm Amber 2.0v

GaAsP:N 585-595nm Yellow 2.2v

AlGaP 550-570nm Green 3.5v

SiC 430-505nm Blue 3.6v

GaInN 450nm White 4.0v

Thus, the actual colour of a light emitting diode is determined by the wavelength of the light emitted,
which in turn is determined by the actual semiconductor compound used in forming the PN junction
during manufacture.

Therefore the colour of the light emitted by an LED is NOT determined by the colouring of the LED’s
plastic body although these are slightly coloured to both enhance the light output and to indicate its
colour when its not being illuminated by an electrical supply.

Light emitting diodes are available in a wide range of colours with the most common being RED,
AMBER,  YELLOW  and GREEN and are thus widely used as visual indicators and as moving light
displays.

Recently developed blue and white coloured LEDs are also available but these tend to be much more
expensive than the normal standard colours due to the production costs of mixing together two or
more complementary colours at an exact ratio within the semiconductor compound and also by
injecting nitrogen atoms into the crystal structure during the doping process.

From the table above we can see that the main P-type dopant used in the manufacture of Light
Emitting Diodes is Gallium (Ga, atomic number 31) and that the main N-type dopant used is Arsenic
(As, atomic number 33) giving the resulting compound of Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) crystalline
structure.

The problem with using Gallium Arsenide on its own as the semiconductor compound is that it
radiates large amounts of low brightness infra-red radiation (850nm-940nm approx.) from its
junction when a forward current is owing through it.
The amount of infra-red light it produces is okay for television remote controls but not very useful if
we want to use the LED as an indicating light. But by adding Phosphorus (P, atomic number 15), as a
third dopant the overall wavelength of the emitted radiation is reduced to below 680nm giving visible
red light to the human eye. Further re nements in the doping process of the PN junction have
resulted in a range of colours spanning the spectrum of visible light as we have seen above as well as
infra-red and ultra-violet wavelengths.

By mixing together a variety of semiconductor, metal and gas compounds the following list of LEDs
can be produced.

Types of Light Emitting Diode

Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) – infra-red
Gallium Arsenide Phosphide (GaAsP) – red to infra-red, orange
Aluminium Gallium Arsenide Phosphide (AlGaAsP) – high-brightness red, orange-red,
orange, and yellow
Gallium Phosphide (GaP) – red, yellow and green
Aluminium Gallium Phosphide (AlGaP) – green
Gallium Nitride (GaN) – green, emerald green
Gallium Indium Nitride (GaInN) – near ultraviolet, bluish-green and blue
Silicon Carbide (SiC) – blue as a substrate
Zinc Selenide (ZnSe) – blue
Aluminium Gallium Nitride (AlGaN) – ultraviolet

Like conventional PN junction diodes, light emitting diodes are current-dependent devices with its
forward voltage drop VF, depending on the semiconductor compound (its light colour) and on the
forward biased LED current. Most common LED’s require a forward operating voltage of between
approximately 1.2 to 3.6 volts with a forward current rating of about 10 to 30 mA, with 12 to 20 mA
being the most common range.

Both the forward operating voltage and forward current vary depending on the semiconductor
material used but the point where conduction begins and light is produced is about 1.2V for a
standard red LED to about 3.6V for a blue LED.

The exact voltage drop will of course depend on the manufacturer because of the different dopant
materials and wavelengths used. The voltage drop across the LED at a particular current value, for
example 20mA, will also depend on the initial conduction VF point. As an LED is effectively a diode, its
forward current to voltage characteristics curves can be plotted for each diode colour as shown
below.
Light Emitting Diodes I-V Characteristics.

Light Emitting Diode (LED) Schematic symbol and I-V Characteristics Curves
showing the different colours available.

Before a light emitting diode can “emit” any form of light it needs a current to ow through it, as it is a
current dependant device with their light output intensity being directly proportional to the forward
current owing through the LED.

As the LED is to be connected in a forward bias condition across a power supply it should be current
limited using a series resistor to protect it from excessive current ow. Never connect an LED directly
to a battery or power supply as it will be destroyed almost instantly because too much current will
pass through and burn it out.

From the table above we can see that each LED has its own forward voltage drop across the PN
junction and this parameter which is determined by the semiconductor material used, is the forward
voltage drop for a speci ed amount of forward conduction current, typically for a forward current of
20mA.

In most cases LEDs are operated from a low voltage DC supply, with a series resistor, RS used to limit
the forward current to a safe value from say 5mA for a simple LED indicator to 30mA or more where
a high brightness light output is needed.

LED Series Resistance.

The series resistor value RS is calculated by simply using Ohm´s Law, by knowing the required
forward current IF of the LED, the supply voltage VS across the combination and the expected
forward voltage drop of the LED, VF at the required current level, the current limiting resistor is
calculated as: