LED technology holds the promise

LED lighting is the last word in lighting technology. LED technology holds the promise of reducing human carbon footprint to manageable levels. The light produced by an LED chip depends on the gross light output and on the efficiency with which the chip design makes the light escape from the chip.

When LEDs were invented, the light output was miniscule and impractical for lighting applications. Then, sometime in the 1990s, scientists added tiny mirrors to the LED chip to channel the light outside. They also added small holes to increase light output from LED devices to make the idea of a truly green, eco-friendly light a reality.

It seems that human beings were neither the first nor the best in using these solutions. Scientists at Exeter University were surprised to learn that swallow-tail butterflies have been using the same strategies to increase the reflection of light from their wings for billions of years. These butterflies have scales in their wings that perfectly mimic the design of a 2 D photonic crystal and increase the light output.

The thought that butterflies beat human beings to it when it comes to perfecting the art of extracting light from LEDs is humbling. Things like these remind us how valuable nature is and how humanity can benefit from a deeper understanding of the ways of nature.The next time you look at the bright spots on a butterfly’s wings you could be looking at the source of the next big breakthrough in lighting. Perhaps a study of natural photonic crystals will teach us to build still better LED lights in the future. Beetles, dragonflies, moths, the list of animals that use light reflection strategies is long and impressive and each tiny insect is the result of 380 billion years of uncompromising research and development.

At My LED Lighting Guide, we endeavor to bring innovative lighting products to you – products that make perfect sense – financial and environmental.