Feature
Fifty Years of Visible LEDs
Originally a byproduct of the race to build a semiconductor laser, the visible light-emitting diode emerged in the fall of 1962. Following the “alloy road,” scientists have devised ever-brighter LEDs—and poised them to displace a century-old lighting technology.
If lasers are the celebrities of the photonics industry, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are the worker drones. They are behind the scenes in thousands of products and devices, ranging from children’s sneakers and blinking trinkets to traffic lights and automotive lamps that prevent fatalities.
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