Before we thought LEDS are only manufactured semiconductor devices. But, today we realised that LED lighting can actually be grown !
Using different materials, researchers have shown that different LEDs can achieve different wavelengths of light. Through which, we can have different application. Furthermore, Roberto Myers, a materials scientist at Ohio State University in Columbus, and his team has developed LED nanowires on a thin aluminium foil. This invention not only allow UV lighting to be generated, but also takes care of heat dissipation from the LED.
For example, a UV LED lighting made of aluminium gallium nitride is able to kill germs and bacteria in water. Combining this invention with a water filtration system, it may be usefully applied in different places to produce clean portable water.
Article by: Tan Chin Koon, NTU 3rd year EEE from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
References:
1. https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/leds-offer-new-way-kill-germs-water
Citation
Journal: B.J. May, A.T.M. Golam Sarwar and R.C. Myers. Nanowire LEDs grown directly on flexible metal foil. Applied Physics Letters. April 4, 2016, p. 141103. doi: 10.1063/1.4945419.