Light Emitting Diodes - Better Automotive Lighting

Light Emitting Diodes

Light Emitting Diodes are the future of lighting technology! This is NOT a light bulb!

First used as status and indicator lamps, and more recently in under-shelf illumination, accent lighting, and directional marking applications, high-brightness LEDs have emerged within the last six years. But only recently have they been seriously looked upon as a feasible option in general purpose or automotive lighting applications. This is an overview of the basic technology which these devices are based.

An automotive light bulb made with LED technology as a light source instead of halogen incandescent filaments.

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are solid-state devices that convert electric energy directly into light of a single color. Because they employ “cold” light generation technology, in which most of the energy is delivered in the visible spectrum, LEDs don’t waste energy in the form of non-light producing heat like halogen bulbs.

In addition to producing cold light, LEDs:

• Can be powered from a portable battery pack or even a solar array.
• Can be integrated into a control system.
• Are small in size and resistant to vibration and shock.
• Have a very fast “on-time” (60 nano-seconds vs 10 mili-seconds for an incandescent lamp).
• Have good color resolution and present low, or no, shock hazard.

The centerpiece of a typical LED is a diode that is chip-mounted in a reflector cup and held in place by a mild steel lead frame connected to a pair of electrical wires. The entire arrangement is then encapsulated in epoxy. The diode chip is generally about 0.25 mm square. When current flows across the junction of two different materials, light is produced from within the solid crystal chip.

The shape, or width, of the emitted light beam is determined by a variety of factors: the shape of the reflector cup, the size of the LED chip, the shape of the epoxy lens and the distance between the LED chip and the epoxy lens. The composition of the materials determines the wavelength and color of light.

. Today LEDs have evolved into a more usable product that can create massive amounts of light output by creating new types of Light Emitting Diodes. High Power Car LEDs are now available as bulb replacements and universal applications.

Disclaimer:

Street legal in the USA for Fog Light use.  Not compliant with DOT / FMVSS108 and not street legal in the USA for Headlights.  Certain specialty vehicles strictly limited to off-street use and not having DOT registration or license plates may use these products exclusively off-streets. International street legality varies by country. This usage regulation is not unique to a specific bulb, ALL LED and HID bulbs from all other brands, regardless of marketing claims, are prohibited from street use in halogen headlights in the USA.