The History of LED Lights

You can find facilities switching to LED warehouse lights for large commercial warehouses, and LED sports lighting for athletic facilities. High-performance stadium lights illuminate baseball, softball, and football fields, while LEDs serve homes, businesses, automobiles, and agricultural equipment. The development history of this technology stretches back over a century.

Before exploring LED lighting’s past, let’s understand how it currently functions.

How LED Technology Works

LED lighting is a type of solid-state lighting (SSL) where semiconductor materials convert electricity into light within a small diode space (typically one square millimeter or less). LEDs create light through electroluminescence, a process where materials emit light when an electric current passes through them. Unlike incandescent bulbs with filaments, each LED fixture contains multiple light-emitting diodes that project light directionally rather than 360 degrees from the source.

This directional characteristic reduces the need for reflectors typically required with fluorescent and halogen sources, improving efficiency. The development story begins in the earliest days of wireless technology, when very little was understood about semiconductors or their light-emitting potential.

LEDs have been commercially available since the 1960s, but their technological foundation was established decades earlier through developments not originally related to lighting applications.

Complete Timeline of LED Development

1900s: Early Electroluminescence Discovery

In 1907, British radio engineer Henry Joseph Round discovered electroluminescence. Early radio detectors used semiconductor crystals with thin wire contacts called “Cat’s Whiskers” to create point-contact diodes. Round observed that electrical current through certain detectors produced light, though too faint for practical applications.

1920s: The Round Effect

Russian physicist Oleg Losev studied Round’s discovery in 1921, terming it the “Round Effect.” In 1927, Losev published theories on electroluminescence and light-emitting diodes in radio applications. His semiconductor research continued until 1942, when he died during the Siege of Leningrad, and much of his work was lost until the 1950s.

1930s: Terminology Development

French physicist Georges Destriau coined the term “electroluminescence” in 1936, describing light generation from zinc sulfide powder when an electric current passed through it.

1950s: Semiconductor Physics Advances

The 1951 transistor development advanced semiconductor physics, enabling a better understanding of light emission processes and new diode development. In 1958, Rubin Braunstein and Egon Loebner created the first green LED at RCA Laboratories.

1960s: Commercial LED Development

Gary Pittman and James R. Biard developed the infrared LED at Texas Instruments in 1961. Nick Holonyak created the first visible-spectrum red LED at General Electric in 1962.

IBM began using LEDs as equipment indicators on computer circuit boards in 1964, marking early commercial applications. Monsanto became one of the first LED manufacturers, while Hewlett-Packard incorporated LEDs into calculators by 1968.

1970s: Color Expansion and Brightness Improvements

Between 1971 and 1972, researchers developed blue, orange, yellow, violet, and green LEDs using new semiconductor materials, with significantly improved brightness over earlier versions. Monsanto began large-scale LED manufacturing.

In 1976, Thomas P. Pearsall developed high-brightness LEDs suitable for fiber optic applications, advancing global communications technology.

1980s: Blue LED Breakthrough

Walden C. Rhines and Herbert Maruska created a blue LED using magnesium at Stanford University in 1986, establishing standards for high-brightness LEDs suitable for applications beyond indicator lights.

1990s: Ultra-Bright Blue and White LEDs

From 1992 to 1995, Shuji Nakamura, with colleagues Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano, developed ultra-bright blue LEDs using Gallium Nitride. Nakamura then created high-intensity green and blue LEDs with Indium Gallium Nitride.

This breakthrough enabled cost-effective white LED development. White LEDs first appeared commercially in 1995, laying the groundwork for today’s residential, commercial, and industrial lighting applications.

2000s: Market Expansion

White LEDs for residential applications became commercially available in 2002. By 2006, LED efficiency reached 100 lumens per watt under laboratory conditions, approaching the efficiency of high-intensity discharge (HID) lights.

2010s: Efficiency Leadership

By 2010, some laboratory LEDs achieved 250 lumens per watt efficiency under optimal conditions. By 2019, LEDs became the dominant lighting technology across most applications, as incandescent, fluorescent, and halogen technologies were gradually phased out.

LED Advantages and Current Applications

LED development has progressed significantly over 100+ years, with rapid advancement in the past three decades. Today’s LEDs offer several advantages over traditional lighting technologies:

• Energy Efficiency: Higher lumens per watt reduce operational costs
• Extended Lifespan: Up to 50,000+ hours, depending on application and quality
• Reduced Heat Generation: More energy converts to light rather than heat
• Environmental Benefits: No mercury content simplifies disposal
• Light Quality: Consistent output throughout operational lifespan

Current LED technology continues advancing in several areas:

• Automotive Applications: Adaptive headlights with glare reduction and optimized illumination
• Li-Fi Technology: Light-based data transmission as a Wi-Fi alternative
• Human-Centric Lighting: Circadian rhythm support through tunable color temperature
• Smart Integration: IoT connectivity and automated control systems

Future of LED Technology

LED advancement continues across efficiency, color quality, and smart integration. While LEDs have become the primary lighting technology for most applications, considerations include upfront costs, dimming compatibility, and specific application requirements.

For professional lighting installations, consult qualified electrical contractors to ensure proper selection, installation, and code compliance. Contact our lighting experts for project-specific guidance.

Disclaimer: Technical specifications and performance data are based on typical manufacturer ratings under standard test conditions. Actual performance may vary based on operating conditions, installation, and specific product selections. Always consult product specifications and qualified professionals for critical applications.