Let there be (blue LED) light

[Jam]

This year's Nobel in physics.

Isamu Akasaki
Meijo University, Nagoya, Japan and Nagoya University, Japan
Hiroshi Amano
Nagoya University, Japan
and
Shuji Nakamura
University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
“for the invention of efficient blue light-emitting diodes which has enabled bright and energy-saving white light sources”

New light to illuminate the world

This year’s Nobel Laureates are rewarded for having invented a new energy-efficient and environment-friendly light source – the blue light-emitting diode (LED). In the spirit of Alfred Nobel the Prize rewards an invention of greatest benefit to mankind; using blue LEDs, white light can be created in a new way. With the advent of LED lamps we now have more long-lasting and more efficient alternatives to older light sources.
When Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura produced bright blue light beams from their semi-conductors in the early 1990s, they triggered a funda-mental transformation of lighting technology. Red and green diodes had been around for a long time but without blue light, white lamps could not be created. Despite considerable efforts, both in the scientific community and in industry, the blue LED had remained a challenge for three decades.
They succeeded where everyone else had failed. Akasaki worked together with Amano at the University of Nagoya, while Nakamura was employed at Nichia Chemicals, a small company in Tokushima. Their inventions were revolutionary. Incandescent light bulbs lit the 20th century; the 21st century will be lit by LED lamps.
White LED lamps emit a bright white light, are long-lasting and energy-efficient. They are constantly improved, getting more efficient with higher luminous flux (measured in lumen) per unit electrical input power (measured in watt). The most recent record is just over 300 lm/W, which can be compared to 16 for regular light bulbs and close to 70 for fluorescent lamps. As about one fourth of world electricity consumption is used for lighting purposes, the LEDs contribute to saving the Earth’s resources. Materials consumption is also diminished as LEDs last up to 100,000 hours, compared to 1,000 for incandescent bulbs and 10,000 hours for fluorescent lights.
The LED lamp holds great promise for increasing the quality of life for over 1.5 billion people around the world who lack access to electricity grids: due to low power requirements it can be powered by cheap local solar power.
The invention of the blue LED is just twenty years old, but it has already contributed to create white light in an entirely new manner to the benefit of us all.

http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_priz...014/press.html

[Jam]

Re: Let there be (blue LED) light

Some additional info on the science and technology in layman's terms
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_priz...sprize2014.pdf

[LorenS]

Re: Let there be (blue LED) light

Materials consumption is also diminished as LEDs last up to 100,000 hours, compared to 1,000 for incandescent bulbs and 10,000 hours for fluorescent lights.

But there is way, way more "stuff" in an LED bulb as there is in an incandescent bulb. I like LED lighting, but the materials required to manufacture an LED bulb are much, much more energy intensive than for an incandescent. Incandescent bulbs are also mostly recyclable while LED bulbs have FR4 board material and capacitors and such that are not as easily recycled.

I am so glad to see CFL bubs obsoleted, though. They were the most miserable, over-hyped product ever. I've got nearly all of the CFLs banished from my house.

Fun fact: We had to remove an LED light bulb from our garage door opener. The RF interference would prevent the remote controls from working when the bulb was lit. For some reason CFL bulbs don't do this even though they also generate RF interference.

[ASH]

Re: Let there be (blue LED) light

An interesting thing about this year's Nobel prize in physics is that it awards work that is readily comprehensible -- awarded not for the intricate cleverness of some physical insight but for the ubiquitous and practically useful technology enabled by overcoming certain manufacturing challenges. To me, it seems not to award physics so much as engineering. I don't think the work really introduced new concepts by which the natural world is understood, or even pioneered demonstration of a new type of device. The prize-winners didn't invent the LED or explain the physics of diode junctions or the conversion of electrical current into light in a quantum well -- all this was already well understood. Rather, they solved a host of practical crystal growth problems in order to build LEDs from a previously unexploited semiconductor alloy system. But... the practical impact on society is vastly greater than something like the theoretical understanding of electroweak unification is ever likely to be, and the Nobel prize is awarded for a discovery or invention having the "greatest benefit on mankind" as much as its cleverness.

One of the awardees, Professor Nakamura, was recruited to the Materials Department at UCSB while I was a graduate student in that department; some of my friends worked with him on technology derived from the LED work for which he just won the Nobel prize. They're quite pleased.

[EJ]

Re: Let there be (blue LED) light

An interesting thing about this year's Nobel prize in physics is that it awards work that is readily comprehensible -- awarded not for the intricate cleverness of some physical insight but for the ubiquitous and practically useful technology enabled by overcoming certain manufacturing challenges. To me, it seems not to award physics so much as engineering. I don't think the work really introduced new concepts by which the natural world is understood, or even pioneered demonstration of a new type of device. The prize-winners didn't invent the LED or explain the physics of diode junctions or the conversion of electrical current into light in a quantum well -- all this was already well understood. Rather, they solved a host of practical crystal growth problems in order to build LEDs from a previously unexploited semiconductor alloy system. But... the practical impact on society is vastly greater than something like the theoretical understanding of electroweak unification is ever likely to be, and the Nobel prize is awarded for a discovery or invention having the "greatest benefit on mankind" as much as its cleverness.

One of the awardees, Professor Nakamura, was recruited to the Materials Department at UCSB while I was a graduate student in that department; some of my friends worked with him on technology derived from the LED work for which he just won the Nobel prize. They're quite pleased.

I do not know what else was on the menu of award choices before the committee but I can't help thinking that there is a reason why they chose an invention by a small, highly motivated and creative team that will contribute importantly to a reduction in demand for electricity at a time when the scientific community is increasingly aware that supply at current prices is likely to decline going forward. Perhaps they hope that this will motivate small engineering and scientific teams to solve other as yet unsolved conservation technology challenges.

[flintlock]

Re: Let there be (blue LED) light

If LEDs live up to their billing, they should last a lifetime in most applications in a home. One of the biggest advantages that most people are not aware is the low heat output and how that will vastly affect fixture life. Heat is the # 1 killer of lighting fixtures and with the cheap junk being imported today, many wont last 5 years. Lower energy use has other advantages in terms of the wiring required as well. I've not run across any RFI issues yet but it doesn't surprise me. The LED lamp vs CFL is like a Porsche vs a Model T.

[EJ]

Re: Let there be (blue LED) light

If LEDs live up to their billing, they should last a lifetime in most applications in a home. One of the biggest advantages that most people are not aware is the low heat output and how that will vastly affect fixture life. Heat is the # 1 killer of lighting fixtures and with the cheap junk being imported today, many wont last 5 years. Lower energy use has other advantages in terms of the wiring required as well. I've not run across any RFI issues yet but it doesn't surprise me. The LED lamp vs CFL is like a Porsche vs a Model T.

Back in 2008 when I was doing research for my now old book (2010) I interviewed the founding CEO of Luminus Devices Udi Meirav. After hooking up one of the company's LEDs to a 9 volt battery and shining a blinding light on a wall illuminated by sunlight he lamented that 30 years ago transistors replaced vacuum tubes for current control but 50 years later we are still using vacuum tubes for lighting. Bright, warm white light LEDs will change that.

Six years later this idea is becoming fact, with warm white light LEDs rapidly coming down in price.

90% energy efficient, they will help buffer the impact of PCO.

Luminus was bought by a Chinese company in 2013.

[Thailandnotes]

Re: Let there be (blue LED) light

Spent last week in Luang Prabang, Laos, a world heritage site.

Two years ago the lights next to the beds in the hotel were so dim, I went to a hardware store and rigged up a reading lamp. You could not buy a lamp, not even the hanging/extension cord kind a mechanic would use to work on a car at night. This time there were LED lamps all over.

The Australian guy checking out was telling the desk clerk he would be redoing the lighting in his garage.

Asian leapfrogging continues.

[Jam]

Re: Let there be (blue LED) light

To me, it seems not to award physics so much as engineering.

I agree. Interestingly, this year's award in chemistry looks more like one in physics ... or biology (medicine), in term of applications.

[Polish_Silver]

Sour Grapes and engineering

This year's Nobel in physics.

http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_priz...014/press.html

As Ash has pointed out, this prize is more about engineering than fundamental physics. That was also true of the Nobel given for electron microscopy. . However, that Nobel revolutionized biochemistry and materials science. The blue leds may not revolutionize any scientific fields, but they are vital for the tru touch, and for the $25 headlamps you can get on ebay.


I am disappointed they didn't include Nick Holonyak on this. He didn't do the blue led, but rather the diode laser and some other very important devices.

Wiki:

According to Knight Ridder, "The cheap and reliable semiconductor lasers critical to DVD players, bar code readers and scores of other devices owe their existence in some small way to the demanding workload thrust upon Downstate railroad crews decades ago."^[6]

[astonas]

Re: Sour Grapes and engineering

As Ash has pointed out, this prize is more about engineering than fundamental physics. That was also true of the Nobel given for electron microscopy. . However, that Nobel revolutionized biochemistry and materials science. The blue leds may not revolutionize any scientific fields, but they are vital for the tru touch, and for the $25 headlamps you can get on ebay.


I am disappointed they didn't include Nick Holonyak on this. He didn't do the blue led, but rather the diode laser and some other very important devices.

Wiki:

Nakamura was also first to the blue laser diode, so it would still make sense to name him instead if that were the emphasis.

In terms of other devices, there are indeed a long list of others that might be included. But the Nobel prize is unfortunately still limited to three recipients each.

[GRG55]

Re: Let there be (blue LED) light

The automated "smart" bulb is on the way (but for now only if you can stand the price). Claims to use 80% less energy than a conventional LED bulb!

https://stacklighting.com/assets/files/alba-specs.pdf

In the meantime with "non-smart" LED's falling in price fast, along with increasing availability of better warm white output, it is causing me to permanently displace more and more incandescent bulbs in the bunker with LEDs. The remaining (always highly disliked) CFCs have been relegated to light the basement only.

[vinoveri]

Re: Let there be (blue LED) light

Back in 2008 when I was doing research for my now old book (2010) I interviewed the founding CEO of Luminus Devices Udi Meirav. After hooking up one of the company's LEDs to a 9 volt battery and shining a blinding light on a wall illuminated by sunlight he lamented that 30 years ago transistors replaced vacuum tubes for current control but 50 years later we are still using vacuum tubes for lighting. Bright, warm white light LEDs will change that.

Six years later this idea is becoming fact, with warm white light LEDs rapidly coming down in price.

90% energy efficient, they will help buffer the impact of PCO.

Luminus was bought by a Chinese company in 2013.

The vacuum tube analogy is a good one; in fact with solid state lighting, spectral digital control is now a reality. There's been a lot of research over the past decades on artificial lighting's impact on health, e.g., sleep disturbance and circadian rhythm disruption, increased cancer rates amongst late night shift workers, etc; A lighting system that can change it's spectrum based on time/location/personal schedules to optimize circadian rhythm (or minimize disruption) and thereby aid in health, productivity and performance (pro athletes use lighting to both mitigate the effects of jet lag and night game handicap).
We'll see smartphone's and tablets with biologically correct displays before long (they are already doing it with filtering but it is energy inefficient for a battery dependent device; a new backlight architecture is needed).
The efficiencies are just starting to exceed that of CFLs - and you can dim; we are still in the early stages of adoption and energy rebates are still a big part of the value proposition to consumers

[Polish_Silver]

Re: Let there be (blue LED) light

The automated "smart" bulb is on the way (but for now only if you can stand the price). Claims to use 80% less energy than a conventional LED bulb!

https://stacklighting.com/assets/files/alba-specs.pdf

In the meantime with "non-smart" LED's falling in price fast, along with increasing availability of better warm white output, it is causing me to permanently displace more and more incandescent bulbs in the bunker with LEDs. The remaining (always highly disliked) CFCs have been relegated to light the basement only.

The color of flourescent bulbs is gross, and seems to be getting worse over the decades. The led's should be capable of any desired spectral bias--resembling sunlight or even fire light.

[GRG55]

Re: Let there be (blue LED) light

The color of flourescent bulbs is gross, and seems to be getting worse over the decades. The led's should be capable of any desired spectral bias--resembling sunlight or even fire light.

Agree on the first point. However, the first LEDs that were available locally were an equally harsh bright white light, worse than a halogen. Only recently are we starting to see some spectral variety here. The Canadian market is much smaller than the USA, so often our selection is limited or it takes longer for new products to appear up here.