Solid-state lighting (SSL) is a type of

lighting Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight. ...

that uses semiconductor light-emitting diodes (LEDs),

organic light-emitting diode An organic light-emitting diode (OLED), also known as organic electroluminescent (organic EL) diode, is a type of light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is an organic compound film that emits light in respon ...

s (OLED), or polymer light-emitting diodes (PLED) as sources of illumination rather than

electrical filament An incandescent light bulb, also known as an incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe, is an electric light that produces illumination by Joule heating a filament until it glows. The filament is enclosed in a glass bulb that is eith ...

s, plasma (used in arc lamps such as

fluorescent lamps A fluorescent lamp, or fluorescent tube, is a low-pressure mercury-vapor gas-discharge lamp that uses fluorescence to produce visible light. An electric current in the gas excites mercury vapor, to produce ultraviolet and make a phosphor ...

), or

gas Gas is a state of matter that has neither a fixed volume nor a fixed shape and is a compressible fluid. A ''pure gas'' is made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon) or molecules of either a single type of atom ( elements such as ...

. Solid state electroluminescence is used in SSL, as opposed to incandescent bulbs (which use thermal radiation) or fluorescent tubes. Compared to incandescent lighting, SSL creates visible light with reduced heat generation and less energy dissipation. Most common " white LEDs” convert blue light from a solid-state device to an (approximate) white light spectrum using

photoluminescence Photoluminescence (abbreviated as PL) is light emission from any form of matter after the absorption of photons (electromagnetic radiation). It is one of many forms of luminescence (light emission) and is initiated by photoexcitation (i.e. phot ...

, the same principle used in conventional fluorescent tubes. The typically small mass of a solid-state electronic lighting device provides for greater resistance to shock and vibration compared to brittle glass tubes/bulbs and long, thin filament wires. They also eliminate filament evaporation, potentially increasing the life span of the

illumination device Illumination may refer to: Science and technology * Illumination, an observable property and effect of light * Illumination (lighting), the use of light sources * Global illumination, algorithms used in 3D computer graphics Spirituality and reli ...

. Solid-state lighting is often used in

traffic light Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – also known as robots in South Africa, Zambia, and Namibia – are signaling devices positioned at intersection (road), road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order t ...

s and is also used in modern vehicle lights, street and parking lot lights, train marker lights, building exteriors, remote controls etc. Controlling the light emission of LEDs may be done most effectively by using the principles of

nonimaging optics Nonimaging optics (also called anidolic optics)Roland Winston et al., ''Nonimaging Optics'', Academic Press, 2004 R. John Koshel (Editor), ''Illumination Engineering: Design with Nonimaging Optics'', Wiley, 2013 is a branch of optics that is conce ...

. Solid-state lighting has made significant advances in industry. In the entertainment lighting industry, standard incandescent tungsten-halogen lamps are being replaced by solid-state lighting fixtures.Kho, Mu-Jeong, Javed, T., Mark, R., Maier, E., and David, C. (2008) 'Final Report: OLED Solid State Lighting: Kodak European Research' MOTI (Management of Technology and Innovation) Project, Judge Business School of the University of Cambridge and Kodak European Research, Final Report presented on 4 March 2008 at Kodak European Research at Cambridge Science Park, Cambridge, UK, pages 1-12 __NOTOC__

References

External links

EUROPEAN METROLOGY RESEARCH PROJECT - METROLOGY FOR SOLID STATE LIGHTINGSolid State Lighting, International Energy Agency research projectLighting Research Center - Solid-State Lighting Program OLLA: finished European academic-industrial research project into OLED lightingOLED100.EU: successor to the OLLA project
{{Artificial light sources Types of lamp Semiconductor devices Energy-saving lighting Light-emitting diodes

See also

References

Further reading

External links