14 DAY TRIAL // A team of experts at a private startup company in the United States announces the development of a new production technique aimed at manufacturing light-emitting diodes (LED). If widely applied, this method could lead to more people employing LED lighting in their households.
As incandescent light bulbs are beginning to get phased out from the nation, specialists are directing people towards compact fluorescent lights (CFL), a technology that is significantly more efficient.
At the same time, LED lighting is even more efficient than CFL, but a lot more expensive due to high manufacturing costs. This is why the new production technique could make an important difference.
Expensive chemicals such as silicon carbide or sapphire are very often used to create the substrates on which LED lamps are produced. What California-based startup Bridgelux developed is a method of producing the diodes using fabrication machines that produce silicon computer chips.
Representatives from the company explain that this measure could cut down LED production costs by no less than 75 percent, which would be a massive leap forward, Technology Review reports.
When considering the price of a commercially-available LED light bulb, more than 60 percent is accounted for by the LED chip. Heat management electronics and control circuits make up 40 percent of the price.
Therefore, a LED light bulb produced via the Bridgelux approach could cost between $9-18 less than standard ones available today, generally sold for around $40. Officials with the company say that costs could be reduced even further by integrating the light chip with the electronic components.
The Lighting Technology Roadmap that the US Department of Energy (DOE) set forth for 2012 calls for LED lighting to have an efficiency of 150 lumens per watt. The Bridgelux approach is already producing an efficiency of 135 lumens per watt.
A short comparison of available technologies show that incandescent light bulbs have an average efficiency level of about 15 lumens per watt, while CFL light emits between 50 and 100 lumens per watt.
According to statements by Bridgelux, the company is expecting to have its first LED lamps available for commercial use by 2013-2014. There are also several other companies that are working towards achieving an efficiency level of 150 lumens per watt.