LEDs and OLEDs are made from layers of semiconductors--materials whose electrical performance is midway between an excellent conductor such as copper and an insulator such as rubber. Semiconducting materials, such as silicon, have a small energy gap between electrons that are bound and those that are free to move around and conduct electricity. Given sufficient energy in the form of an applied voltage, electrons can "jump" the gap and begin moving, constituting an electrical charge. A semiconductor can be made conductive by doping it; if the atoms added to a layer have a smaller number of electrons than the atoms they replace, electrons have effectively been removed, leaving positively charged "holes" and making the material "p-type." Alternatively, a layer that is doped so that it has an excess of negatively charged electrons becomes "n-type" [see illustration below]. When an electron is added to a p-type material, it may encounter a hole and drop into the lower band, giving up an amount of energy (equal to the energy gap) as a photon of light. The wavelength depends on the energy gap of the emitting material.

   
Already a Digital subscriber? Sign-in Now
If your institution has site license access, enter here.