LED Specifications & Parameters

When choosing LEDs for particular applications it is necessary to comprehend the different LED specifications or LED parameters. There is a variety of different LED specifications, each of which will have an effect on the choice of the particular LED used. With such a variety of different LEDs available, the LED specifications cane be matched to the requirements for the particular application rather than having to make do. Some of the major LED specifications are outlined in the paragraphs below.

LED colour
Obviously the colour is a major LED specification or LED parameter. LEDS tend to provide a single colour. The light emission extends over a relatively narrow light spectrum. The colour emitted by an LED is specified in terms of its peak wavelength (lpk) - i.e. the wavelength which has the peak light output. This is measured in nanometers (nm). The colour of the LED, i.e. the peak wavelength of the emission from the LED is a function mainly of the chip material and its fabrication. Typically process variations give peak wavelength variations of up to 10nm. When choosing colours within the LED specification, it is worth remembering that the human eye is most sensitive to hue or colour variations is around the yellow / orange area of the spectrum - around 560 to 600 nm. This may affect the choice of colour, or position of LEDs if this could be a problem.

LED light intensity value, Iv

The LED specification for light intensity is important. The light intensity is governed by a variety of factors including the LED chip itself (including the design, individual wafer, the materials, etc.) , the current level, encapsulation and other factors. The LED light intensity specification is not of crucial importance for most indicator applications, but with LEDs being used for lighting, this parameter is needed to be able to specify exactly what is needed in many situations. The light output from an LED is quantified in terms a single point, on-axis luminous intensity value (Iv). This is specified as millicandella, mcd. The lv measurement for LEDs cannot easily be compared with the values of mean spherical candle power, MSCP used for incandescent lamps. The luminous intensity value for an LED must be quoted for a given current. Many LEDs will operate at currents of around 20mA, but the light output of an LED increases with increasing current.

LED current / voltage specification

LEDs are current driven devices and the level of light is a function of the current - increasing the current increases the light output. It is necessary to ensure that the maximum current rating is not

exceeded. This could give rise to excessive heat dissipation within the LED chip itself which could result in reduced light output and reduced operating lifetime. In operation, LEDs will have a given voltage drop across them which is dependent upon the material used. The voltage will also be slightly dependent upon the level of current, so the current will be stated for this. Most LEDs require an external series current limiting resistor. Some LEDs may include a series resistor and will state the overall operating voltage.

LED reverse voltage

LEDs are not tolerant to large reverse voltages. They should never be run above their stated maximum reverse voltage, which is normally quite small. If they are then permanent destruction of the device will almost certainly result. If there is any chance of a reverse voltage appearing across the LED, then it is always best to build in protection into the circuitry to prevent this. Normally simple diode circuits can be introduced and these will adequately protect any LED.

LED angle of view specification

In view of the way in which LEDs operate, the light is only emitted over a certain angle. While this LED specification may not be important for some applications, it is of great importance for others. The angle of view is normally defined in degrees - . For early devices, the angle of view was normally relatively small. More recent devices may have a much wider angle of view.

LED specification for operational life

The light intensity of a LED does diminish gradually with time. This means that a LED has an operational life. This LED specification is of particular importance when a LED or LEDs are to be used for lighting applications. It is not normally as crucial when the LED is used as an indicator - here a catastrophic failure is of greater importance. The LED specification for its operational life is generally defined in the following terms: L70% = Time to 70% of illumination (lumen maintenance) L50% = Time to 50% of illumination (lumen maintenance) The standards state that during these times, the LED should not exhibit any major shifts in chromaticity. The rationale behind these figures is that 70% lumen maintenance equates to a 30% reduction in light output. This is around the figure for the threshold for detecting gradual reductions in light output. Where light output is not critical, the 50% lumen maintenance figure may be more applicable. However for applications where lights may be placed side by side the 80% lumen maintenance figure should be considered.

Figures for LED operational life may be of the order of 50 000 hours or more dependent upon the lumen maintenance figure used.

LED Packages & Configurations

The standard inorganic styles of LEDs can come in many different varieties. These include different packages and configurations. The variety of packages and styles enables them to be used in many different applications and in many different ways. Also the different configurations of LEDs enable them to be used in many different ways - as indicators, as displays and as monitors.

LED configurations
There are a number of different formations or configurations that LEDs in which LEDs can be obtained:

Single colour: This is the standard format or configuration for an LED. It has two leads, one a cathode and the other an anode. The LED comes on and off according to when a current is passed through the diode. Bi-colour LEDs : This format for LEDs uses a pair of LEDs wired in an inverse parallel formation. This enables one LED to be illuminated at a time dependent upon the polarity of the voltage applied. LEDs do not withstand significant reverse voltages. Although the diodes in this configuration will experience a reverse bias, this is limited to the forward voltage of the other diode, and

this is not sufficient to damage the reverse biased diode. Tri-colour LEDs : This LED configuration again uses two separate LEDs, but in a different configuration. Each LED has a different colour. There are two anode connections and a single cathode. It is therefore possible to turn each LED on separately, giving a choice of two colours - the third is provided by turning both LEDs on together and giving a third colour by addition. It is also possible to have different intensities of both LEDs to further vary the colour.

Flashing LEDs: This form of LED is relatively easy to implement. The package contains not only the LED but also a simple IC that provides a timing function to enable the LED to flash.

Traditional LED packages

The traditional LED has been available since the early 1960s and has been produced in quantities of billions.

Typical LED package LEDs are available in a variety of package sizes. Possibly the most widely used is the 5mm diameter one, although a host of others are available ranging from 1.8mm, 3mm, 4mm, 8mm, and 20mm. There are also and rectangular LEDs available - almost any size to fir a wide variety of requirements.

Surface mount, SMT LED packages

Like all components, LEDs are used in vast quantities in LED SMT packages. They are available in the industry outline packages. However they have not been subject to quite the same level of miniaturisation as many components such as resistors and capacitors that are available in 0201, etc. This is partly because they need to be a certain size to see! The most common LED SMT sizes with dimensions are given below.

PACKAGE DESIGNATOR 1206 0805 0603 0402

LENGTH (MM)

WIDTH (MM)

HEIGHT (MM)

3.2 2.0 1.6 1.0

1.5 1.25 0.8 0.5

1.1 0.8 0.6 0.45

LED displays
Although liquid crystal and other forms of display have taken over many alphanumeric display applications, LED technology is still used in a number of applications. It has advantages that it does not need external light as in the case of an LCD. However they are less versatile and costs for customisation normally prohibit this type of use. It is often only possible to display numeric characters, and sometimes some limited graphics Nevertheless LED displays are used in many areas, particularly where power is not an issue. Alarm clocks, test instrumentation, and other forms of mains powered electronic apparatus use LED alphanumeric displays.

The LED alphanumeric displays use a variety of approaches to display the characters:

Seven segment:

This form of display can be used to create digiots between "0" and "9". An

additional LED can also provide a decimal point, making this basic form of LED display applicable for a variety of basic numeric display applications. One example may be clock radios

where power is not an issue. Star-burst: The starburst format for an LED display has the ability to illuminate fifteen lines and in this way it gives a considerable improvement in flexibility over that of the basic seven segment display. It can be programmed to create numeric characters as well as certain limited

graphics. Dot matrix:

The dot matrix display is the most flexible format. The LED dot matrix display is

made up from a matrix of LEDs, each providing a dot. It can be obtained in a variety of formats although 5 rows and five columns, or 7 rows and five columns are common formats.

LED alphanumeric package styles

LED Structure & Fabrication

LEDs are a specialised form of p-n junction diode that have been designed to optimise their electroluminescence. As a result the LED structure and LED fabrication techniques need to ensure that the light output is optimised. There are a number of different aspects to the LED structure and LED fabrication. These include not only the LED fabrication itself, but also the packaging of the LED once the semiconductor chip itself has been fabricated.

LED die structure

There are two basic configurations for the LED structure.

Surface emitting LED structure: the plane of the PN junction. Edge emitting LED structure:

This form of LED structure emits light perpendicular to

This form of LED structure emits light in a plane parallel to

the junction of the PN junction. In this configuration the light can be confined to a narrow angle. The active films of the LED structure are normally grown epitaxially - often by liquid phase or vapour phase epitaxy. The substrates are chosen to have a close lattice match to the active layers. Common substrates are GaAS, GaP, InP. The PN junction can be created by either impurity diffusion, ion implantation, or it can be incorporated during the epitaxial growth phase. Commercially, LEDs exist in a variety of forms, ranging from individual LED indicators where there is just one LED per package, through a variety of displays, right up to vast arrays of LEDs in LED screens. For some limited applications, it is possible to use a variety of LED PN diode junction types. These can include Schottky contacts and MIS (metal-intrinsic-semiconductor) junctions. However these are normally less efficient and sometimes more difficult to form reliably.

Final LED package structure

There are obviously many different styles of LED that are available. These range from the simple LED indicators through the more complicated LED alphanumeric displays to the LED screens that are now appearing. All these types of LED will have their own package structure. However the simple LED indicators tend to have a fairly common structure and this serves to indicate the constraints on any LED device. The structure of the LED package can be split into a number of different elements:

Semiconductor die : This is the light emitting diode itself formed from the semiconductor. Lead frame: This houses the die and acts as the connection to it. Encapsulation: This surrounds the assembly and acts as protection as well as dispersing the light.

The die is bonded into a recess in one half of the lead frame, called the anvil due to its shape. This is done using conductive epoxy. The recess in the anvil is shaped to throw the light radiation forward. The top contact from the die is then wire-bonded to the other lead frame terminal which is often called the post.

Typical LED package