LEDs: In The Beginning

In 1961, American experimenters working at Texas Instruments applied for and received the patent for the infrared LED. Hewlett Packard introduced red LEDs in 1968 that were bright enough only for use as indicators on calculators and equipment. Gradually, other colors became available. As LED materials technology grew more advanced, light output rose, leading to the invention and development of the high-power white-light LEDs that we know today. With rising power output, it has grown increasingly necessary to shed excess heat to maintain reliability, and more complex packages have been adapted to do so. Packages for state of the art high-power LEDs now bear little resemblance to early LEDs.