New Prototype LED Lightbulb Emits Less Blue Light

 

A University of Houston research team is developing an LED bulb that emits most of its energy from the safer violet segment of the visible light spectrum.

Sleep studies reveal that nighttime overexposure to blue frequencies can alter hormones like melatonin, sometimes leading to insomnia, disturbed sleep cycles, and other problems. Too much blue-light exposure also is suspected in cataract formation.

Instead of just masking the blue light, the researchers are developing a unique class of luminescent materials called phosphors that absorb a violet LED’s single-color emission and convert the light to cover the majority of the visible spectrum.

Results of their research were recently published in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, a journal of the American Chemical Society.