It’s often said that we can’t determine where we are going without an understanding of where we have been. While today’s market is rapidly becoming inundated with LED-based products, it is not as new to the world as you may think. Below we will take a look at the many developments and people who have gotten us to where we are today.

1907

Henry J. Round, an assistant to Marconi in England and the chief of Marconi Research added a 24-line note in Electrical World describing a “bright glow” that eminated from a carborundum diode. This was the first reported discovery, not of a LED but the phenomenon of electroluminescence.

1927

The first development of an actual LED-type device was discovered by a self-educated Inventor named Oleg Vladimirovich. He wrote a series of papers from 1924-1930 that provided a comprehensive study of the LED and its possible applications. He had observed light emission from a zinc oxide and silicon crystal rectifier diode that he was using in a radio receiver. He noted a glowing light that was produced when current ran through them.

He called the process “Inverse Photo-Electric Effect” and received a patent relay in 1927.

The basis of his patent was the following:

“The proposed invention uses the known phenomenon of luminescence of a carborundum detector and consists of the use of such a detector in an optical relay for the purpose of fast telegraphic and

telephone communication, transmission of images and other applications when a light luminescence contact point is used as the light source connected directly to a circuit of modulated current.”

1955

Rubin Braunstein from the radio Corporation of America reported on an infrared emission from gallium aresenide (GaAs) and other semi-conductor alloys. This was the beginning of today’s LED material design.

1961

Americans Experimenters Robert Biard and Gary Pittman from Texas Instruments applied for and received the first patent for an infrared LED.

1962

Nick Holonyak developed the first practical, visible spectrum LED while working at General Electric Company. Due to this, Honolyak is viewed as the “Father of the Light Emitting Diode.”

1968

Hewlett Packard introduces the first cost-effective red LEDs. The revolution then takes off as LEDs become widely used for alphanumeric displays and a wide variety of indicator and signaling applications.

1970

Commercially successful LEDs started being manufactured by Fairfield Electronics at a cost of less than five cents per device. They used compound semi-conductor chips and used the ‘planar process’ of development invented by Dr. Jean Hoerni.

1980′s

A wide array of LED developments led to blue, ultraviolet, RBG and white LEDs.

1995

Alberto Barbieri from the Cardiff University lab developed a transparent contact made of indium tin oxide (ITO) on an (AlGaInP/GaAs) LED. This device demonstrated a highly efficient and bright LED design that is now used in many high efficiency LED designs.

2006

The Millenium Technology Prize was awarded to Nakmura for the first lone LED device that appears as a white light. It employs a “YAG” phosphor coating to mix yellow down converted light with blue light to produce a light that appears white.

2008

Luminous efficacy of 300 lumens of visible light per watt of radiation and warm light emission was achieved using nanocrystals.

2009

A new process for growing gallium nitrade (GaN) on silicon was reported. This development will allow costs to be reduced by approximately 90%.

The future of LED development is progressing and improving at rapid rates. It’s safe to say that within the next decade, the majority of lighting applications, whether architectural, equipment-based, signaling, display-based and more will be produced and operated with LED devices.

To make sure your next, best idea is set to grow with the times, contact VCC today to order the latest and greatest LEDs to use in your design.