Light-Emitting Diodes (2nd Edition, 2006)

E. Fred Schubert

Jan 2006 · E. Fred Schubert

About this ebook

Revised and fully updated, the Second Edition of this textbook offers a comprehensive explanation of the technology and physics of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) such as infrared, visible-spectrum, ultraviolet, and white LEDs made from III–V semiconductors. The elementary properties of LEDs such as electrical and optical characteristics are reviewed, followed by the analysis of advanced device structures. With nine additional chapters, the treatment of LEDs has been vastly expanded, including new material on device packaging, reflectors, UV LEDs, III–V nitride materials, solid-state sources for illumination applications, and junction temperature. Radiative and non-radiative recombination dynamics, methods for improving light extraction, high-efficiency and high-power device designs, white-light emitters with wavelength-converting phosphor materials, optical reflectors, and spontaneous recombination in resonant-cavity structures, are discussed in detail. Fields related to solid-state lighting such as human vision, photometry, colorimetry, and color rendering are covered beyond the introductory level provided in the first edition. The applications of infrared and visible spectrum LEDs in silica fiber, plastic fiber, and free-space communication are also discussed. Semiconductor material data, device design data, and analytic formulae governing LED operation are provided. With exercises, solutions and illustrative examples, this textbook will be of interest to scientists and engineers working on LEDs, and to graduate students in electrical engineering, applied physics, and materials science.

About the author

E. Fred Schubert received his Ph.D. degree with Honors in Electrical Engineering from University of Stuttgart in 1986 and is currently a Wellfleet Senior Constellation Professor of the Future Chips Constellation at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He has made several pioneering contributions to the field of LEDs, including the first demonstration of the resonant-cavity light-emitting diode (RCLED). He has authored or co-authored more than 200 publications including Doping in III–V Semiconductors (Cambridge University Press, 1993, 0-521-01784-X) for which he was awarded the VDE Literature Prize. He is inventor or co-inventor of 28 US Patents and a Fellow of the IEEE, APS, OSA, and SPIE. He received the Senior Research Award of the Humboldt Foundation, the Discover Award for Technological Innovation, the RD 100 Award, and Boston University’s Provost Innovation Fund Award.