Colors and Materials
Conventional LEDs are made from a variety of inorganic semiconductor materials. The following table shows the available colors with wavelength range, voltage drop and material:
| Color | Wavelength | Voltage drop | Semiconductor material | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infrared | λ > 760 | ΔV < 1.63 | Gallium arsenide (GaAs) Aluminium gallium arsenide (AlGaAs) |
|
| Red | 610 < λ < 760 | 1.63 < ΔV < 2.03 | Aluminium gallium arsenide (AlGaAs) Gallium arsenide phosphide (GaAsP) Aluminium gallium indium phosphide (AlGaInP) Gallium(III) phosphide (GaP) |
|
| Orange | 590 < λ < 610 | 2.03 < ΔV < 2.10 | Gallium arsenide phosphide (GaAsP) Aluminium gallium indium phosphide (AlGaInP) Gallium(III) phosphide (GaP) |
|
| Yellow | 570 < λ < 590 | 2.10 < ΔV < 2.18 | Gallium arsenide phosphide (GaAsP) Aluminium gallium indium phosphide (AlGaInP) Gallium(III) phosphide (GaP) |
|
| Green | 500 < λ < 570 | 1.9 < ΔV < 4.0 | Indium gallium nitride (InGaN) / Gallium(III) nitride (GaN) Gallium(III) phosphide (GaP) Aluminium gallium indium phosphide (AlGaInP) Aluminium gallium phosphide (AlGaP) |
|
| Blue | 450 < λ < 500 | 2.48 < ΔV < 3.7 | Zinc selenide (ZnSe) Indium gallium nitride (InGaN) Silicon carbide (SiC) as substrate Silicon (Si) as substrate — under development |
|
| Violet | 400 < λ < 450 | 2.76 < ΔV < 4.0 | Indium gallium nitride (InGaN) | |
| Purple | multiple types | 2.48 < ΔV < 3.7 | Dual blue/red LEDs, blue with red phosphor, or white with purple plastic |
|
| Ultraviolet | λ < 400 | 3.1 < ΔV < 4.4 | Diamond (235 nm) Boron nitride (215 nm) Aluminium nitride (AlN) (210 nm) Aluminium gallium nitride (AlGaN) Aluminium gallium indium nitride (AlGaInN) — down to 210 nm |
|
| Pink | multiple types | ΔV ~ 3.3 | Blue with one or two phosphor layers: yellow with red, orange or pink phosphor added afterwards, or white with pink pigment or dye. |
|
| White | Broad spectrum | ΔV = 3.5 | Blue/UV diode with yellow phosphor |
Read more about this topic: Light-emitting Diode
Famous quotes containing the words colors and, colors and/or materials:
“The butterfly’s attractiveness derives not only from colors and symmetry: deeper motives contribute to it. We would not think them so beautiful if they did not fly, or if they flew straight and briskly like bees, or if they stung, or above all if they did not enact the perturbing mystery of metamorphosis: the latter assumes in our eyes the value of a badly decoded message, a symbol, a sign.”
—Primo Levi (1919–1987)
“One wonders that the tithing-men and fathers of the town are not out to see what the trees mean by their high colors and exuberance of spirits, fearing that some mischief is brewing. I do not see what the Puritans did at this season, when the maples blaze out in scarlet. They certainly could not have worshiped in groves then. Perhaps that is what they built meeting-houses and fenced them round with horse-sheds for.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Realism to be effective must be a matter of selection. ... genius chooses its materials with a view to their beauty and effectiveness; mere talent copies what it thinks is nature, only to find it has been deceived by the external grossness of things.”
—Julia Marlowe (1866–1950)