LED lighting efficacy: Status and directions

A monumental shift from conventional lighting technologies (incandescent, fluorescent, high intensity discharge) to LED lighting is currently transpiring. The primary driver for this shift has been energy efficiency and associated cost savings. LED lighting is now more efficacious than any of the conventional lighting technologies with room to still improve. Near term, phosphor-converted LED packages have the potential for efficacy improvement between 160 lm/W (now) to 255 lm/W. Longer term, color-mixed LED packages have the potential for efficacy levels conceivably as high as 330 lm/W, though reaching these performance levels requires breakthroughs in green and amber LED efficiency. LED package efficacy sets the upper limit to luminaire efficacy, with the luminaire containing its own efficacy loss channels. In this paper, based on analyses performed through the U.S. Department of Energy Solid State Lighting Program, various LED and luminaire loss channels are elucidated, and critical areas for improvement identified. Beyond massive energy savings, LED technology enables a host of new applications and added value not possible or economical with previous lighting technologies. These include connected lighting, lighting tailored for human physiological responses, horticultural lighting, and ecologically conscious lighting. None of these new applications would be viable if not for the high efficacies that have been achieved, and are themselves just the beginning of what LED lighting can do.     

Historical perspective on the physics of artificial lighting

We describe the evolution of lighting technologies used throughout the ages, and how the need for improvements was such that any new technology giving better and cheaper lighting was immediately implemented. Thus, every revolution in energy sources – gas, petrol electricity – was first put to large-scale use in lighting. We describe in some detail several “ancient” techniques of scientific interest, along with their physical limitations. Electroluminescence – the phenomenon by which LEDs directly convert electricity into light – was long thought to only be of use for indicators or flat panel displays supposed to replace the bulky cathode-ray tubes. The more recent uses of LEDs were mainly for street traffic lights, car indicators, small phone displays, followed by backlighting of TV screens. LED lamps for general lighting only emerged recently as the dominant application of LEDs thanks to dramatic decrease in cost, and continuous improvements of color quality and energy conversion efficiency.     

LED advances accelerate universal access to electric lighting

A rapid increase in the performance and quality of white LED light sources has changed the dynamics of electricity access in the last 10 years, reaching tens of millions of people with electric light who previously had no viable alternatives to fuel-based lighting, which is dangerous and expensive. Eliminating fuel-based lighting is a key public health, safety, social equality, and environmental opportunity that is now achievable. Technology advances in LEDs, other super-efficient appliances, solar photovoltaic generation, advanced batteries, and coordinating information technology systems have combined to significantly expand the reach of off-grid energy systems. With support and effort, it is plausible that small “pico-solar” and “solar home” systems could serve over a billion people within a generation, providing basic but highly valued services. Continued progress can be achieved with attention to continued improvements in technology, supporting a growing range of new businesses and enterprises in energy access markets, and synergy with broader human development effort around access to clean water, financial inclusion, and fair access to resources.     

Comparison between blue lasers and light‐emitting diodes for future solid‐state lighting

Solid‐state lighting (SSL) is now the most efficient source of high color quality white light ever created. Nevertheless, the blue InGaN light‐emitting diodes (LEDs) that are the light engine of SSL still have significant performance limitations. Foremost among these is the decrease in efficiency at high input current densities widely known as “efficiency droop.” Efficiency droop limits input power densities, contrary to the desire to produce more photons per unit LED chip area and to make SSL more affordable. Pending a solution to efficiency droop, an alternative device could be a blue laser diode (LD). LDs, operated in stimulated emission, can have high efficiencies at much higher input power densities than LEDs can. In this article, LEDs and LDs for future SSL are explored by comparing: their current state‐of‐the‐art input‐power‐density‐dependent power‐conversion efficiencies; potential improvements both in their peak power‐conversion efficiencies and in the input power densities at which those efficiencies peak; and their economics for practical SSL.     

Optical design of adjustable light emitting diode for different lighting requirements

<正>Light emitting diode(LED) sources have been widely used for illumination.Optical design,especially freedom compact lens design is necessary to make LED sources applied in lighting industry,such as large-range interior lighting and small-range condensed lighting.For different lighting requirements,the size of target planes should be variable.In our paper we provide a method to design freedom lens according to the energy conservation law and Snell law through establishing energy mapping between the luminous flux emitted by a Lambertian LED source and a certain area of the target plane.The algorithm of our design can easily change the radius of each circular target plane,which makes the size of the target plane adjustable.Ray-tracing software Tracepro is used to validate the illuminance maps and polar-distribution maps.We design lenses for different sizes of target planes to meet specific lighting requirements.     

Glareless light-emitting diode lighting tube

We develop a novel light bar waveguide design to produce a glareless light-emitting diode (LED) lighting tube. We design optimal parameters, such as the gap y between the tube and the reflective surface, the relative distance x between the lens and the LED, and so on. Using these parameters, we fabricate an illumination system consisting of LED light bulb installed at both ends of lighting tube. The lighting tube is shaped the same as a traditional fluorescent lighting tube in order to replace traditional lighting tubes without the modification of the lighting stand. The LED lighting tube is glareless to the observer from the side view.     

LED阵列光源的舞台灯变焦透镜系统

 针对国内大功率LED阵列光源舞台灯具在光束角度不可变和光能利用效率低等问题,提出利用透镜组变焦原理来设计阵列光源变焦透镜系统。基于透镜组变焦原理设计了单颗LED光源的变焦透镜组,高级光学系统分析模拟软件ASAP的计算结果显示：调焦范围为0~10 mm时,出光角度（1/10峰值角）的变化范围为18.5°~38.7°,光能利用效率在调焦距离为10 mm时达到78%以上。在此基础上,将单颗LED光源的变焦透镜组扩展为Red、Green、Blue各12颗共36颗LED的变焦透镜系统,进一步分析36颗LED阵列光源在不同排布方式下的出光角度及混色效果。ASAP计算结果显示：在调焦范围与单颗LED相同的情况下,LED阵列光源变焦透镜系统的出光角度（1/10峰值角）的变化范围为21°~38.6°,且3种颜色LED交叉排列的混色效果较好。由LED阵列的计算结果可知,与国内现有的大功率LED舞台灯具相比,在出光角度的变化范围和光能利用效率方面都得到了提高。     

彩色变焦照明系统设计

针对基于RGB混色技术在小角度、近距离空间内较难实现彩色LED,且有关彩色变焦照明相关文献也较少的问题,设计了一款彩色变焦照明系统。系统主要由LED光源、TIR透镜、微结构透镜组成,可在650mm处实现良好混色照明,变焦范围为4.2°~9.1°(半光强角),且变焦照明过程中,在光强下降为20%的角度内能量利用率达85%以上,半光强角内的能量利用率始终在75%以上,满足设计要求。     

航空照明功率型LED结温的小电流K系数测量法

功率型LED已经越来越多地运用于航空照明领域,迅速准确地获得LED的结温对航空灯具的散热设计显得极为重要。介绍了一种运用小电流K系数测量LED结温的方法。利用了LED半导体芯片的伏安特性,通过构建测量系统获得LED两端瞬间压降值来算出LED的结温。具有获得LED结温快速、准确、非破坏性等特点。     

固态照明光源的基石--氮化镓基白光发光二极管

首先回顾了照明光源的简单历史 ,然后介绍了发光二极管 (LED)发展到大功率白光LED的历史 ,接着简述了国内外发展现状 ,主要技术路线及其特点 .最后阐述了作者在这方面的研究工作进展状况 ,对其发展趋势提出了一些看法 .     

原棉异纤维检测系统照明光源光照度分布研究

在基于机器视觉的原棉异纤维检测系统中,选择能满足检测系统的光源和照明方案是提高系统检测率和检出率的关键,使检测对象尽可能多地显现出特征信息。选用单芯片InGaN(蓝)/YAG荧光粉型白光LED作为照明光源,采用理论计算和非成像光学设计的方法对LED阵列的光照度分布进行了研究,并根据原棉异纤维检测系统对光源光照度的具体要求,设计出了LED正方形阵列和三角形阵列两种排列方式,并利用TracePro软件对两种阵列形式进行仿真。通过比较两种阵列形式光照度分布的结果,最终选用高光照度且均匀性好的LED三角形阵列作为原棉异纤维检测系统的照明光源,满足了机器视觉成像的要求。     

LED灯具道路照明效果模拟与分析

为适应半导体产业的迅猛发展和环保节能的迫切要求,将LED作为一种新的能源方式应用到照明产业中。选取几种有代表性的LED路灯作为研究对象,根据各自不同形状的配光曲线,利用照明仿真软件Dialux对这些LED灯具在不同的布灯方式下在道路上的光照度分布情况进行模拟和分析比较,总结出适合于道路照明的LED路灯应具有的配光曲线特征,为LED灯具设计提供参考。     

A practical means for calibrating an LED-based photometric stereo system

Conventional Photometric Stereo (PS) techniques are usually based on the assumption that the light sources are assumed sufficiently far from the object that all incoming light can be modeled using parallel rays. Meanwhile, for near-field lighting conditions the light sources are close to the object so the parallel ray model cannot be used. To determine the surface normal for each point on the object more accurately, the incoming light direction should be calculated individually for each point. In this work, based on a simple PS setup consisting of LED lamps and one camera, we present a practical method for calibrating lighting directions. First, an optical model of an LED was introduced in the calibration procedure to represent the surface irradiance and image irradiance more accurately. A reference sphere was used for the calibration so that the LED optical axis could be estimated by extracting the specular points from the reference sphere. By introducing the LED emitting model, distance between the LED and the specular point along the optical axis can be calculated. Thus, the incident lighting directions for various image points can be estimated individually. To improve the estimation robustness, a non-linear fitting approach was also applied. Experiments were conducted using objects and the results are compared with traditional methods to demonstrate its feasibility and improvement.     

LED光环境及服装色彩对消费者行为影响分析

LED光源具有高显色性、高发光效率、寿命长、节能环保等优秀的性能,目前很多服装店已经采用L ED进行照明.但服装店在选择照明方式上出现很多问题,比如灯光不能再现服装的真实原貌,消费者的氛围感知不强,消费者购买欲望差.以可调L ED光源为基础,针对服装店室内照明场合,分别采用普通照明方式、重点照明方式、局部照明方式和混合...     

一次透镜封装的单片集成LED光源北大核心CSCD

在使用LED作为照明光源的过程中,光场作为LED应用中的关键因素,一般使用二次光学系统进行调控。但是二次光学系统一般设计复杂、体积大、重量重,随着LED光学封装系统朝着小型化方向发展,二次光学系统的应用将会变得困难。结合软件仿真和实验验证探索了用于单片集成发光二极管(MI-LED)的一次光学透镜的光场调控功能。研究结果表明,仿真和实验LED光源的光场几乎重合一致,所设计的一次透镜将LED光源的光束角从120°调控到48°~72°范围内。与未加一次透镜的LED光源相比,加一次透镜的LED光源具有更高的光提取效率和更均匀的空间光色分布。     

阵列型LED灯具远场距离分析

LED灯具通常为阵列式排布的面光源,为实现对灯具光强分布进行准确测量,照度探测器需要距离待测灯具足够远,使得面光源可近似为点光源,该距离即为远场距离。针对目前对远场距离进行规定的多项国家标准相互间不统一,且标准只考虑灯具发光面最大尺寸单一参数等问题,对阵列排布式LED灯具的远场距离进行研究,计算了不同配光分布、阵列排布方式、阵列密度、阵列尺寸下灯具的远场距离,并详细分析各参数对远场距离的影响,给出远场距离设定的建议,为确定阵列型LED灯具远场距离的光强分布的准确测量提供参考。     

LED照明自适应驱动电源的研制

针对半导体发光二极管(LED)作为照明的驱动特性,设计了一种基于开关电源的自适应LED驱动电路。利用高密度电源控制芯片sa7527实现了LED的恒流驱动和过压保护,通过对输出光强和LED温度的检测实现了光衰的自动补偿功能。实际应用表明,该驱动电路可满足LED作为照明的实际需要,并且具有宽电压输入范围、高效率和光衰补偿功能。     

基于照明的LED阵列研究与仿真

LED是21世纪的绿色光源,具有广阔的照明前景。近年来,LED灯具产品开发的种类越来越多,设计合适的LED灯具显得尤为重要。由于单颗LED的功率很小,作为照明来使用,要求在照明区域内具有一定的均匀光通量和照度,所以需要采用LED的阵列形式, 加大其发光亮度和 发光面积,改善光照的均匀性。该文 首先计算LED阵列的照度叠加,进而根据叠加公式对阵列仿真,分析两种LED阵列分布的仿真结果,得出不同阵列的分布特点,并比较两种阵列的特点,最后分析出不同阵列分布的适用灯具,为LED灯具设计提供可靠依据。     

基于LED照明与弱光收集的节能车灯双向二次配光设计

为进一步利用太阳能,提出了“双向”利用光线的LED车灯设计新理念。运用光路可逆原理与边缘光线原理,构造矩形复合抛物面,对LED车灯进行“双向”二次配光设计。计算了远光灯矩形复合抛物面反光杯所需的最大出光半角、理论长度,借助tracepro软件,模拟研究了该矩形复合抛物面结构的最高光通量、平均光通量、光通量利用率随长度的变化关系,进一步截取较理论长度综合光学性能更好的反光器应用长度L=130 mm,并在此长度下,模拟了该LED远光灯照度分布情况与弱光收集情况。该类型车灯的LED照明与弱光收集互为补充,双向提高了LED车灯空间重复利用率。在照明方面,该灯能够满足现行标准GB25991-2010的要求,相同照度下,照明范围更大;相同照明范围内,照度更高;在弱光收集方面,是对当前太阳能汽车非聚光模式收集太阳能的补充。     

展陈照明光源光谱对光敏文物的辐照损伤研究

展陈照明中的光辐照会对光敏文物材料造成褪色、老化等辐照损伤,尤其对字画、染色丝绸、彩绘陶器等颜色非常丰富的光敏性文物损伤巨大,不利文物安全。国内外展陈照明标准为减少对文物的辐照损伤,严格控制照明标准水平,如光敏文物的照度仅50lx,不利于观众更加细致的欣赏这类文物。随着半导体固态光源Light emitting diode （LED）技术的发展,其光谱中不含对文物损伤最大的紫外和红外波段,与传统光源相比具有天然优势,能够实现在相同照度条件下对文物产生更小的伤害。并使得在不增加对文物损伤的前提下,提高照明环境亮度从而改善照明环境水平成为可能。然而,即使仅有可见光光谱,可见光光子能量仍会对材料造成不可逆的损伤。而LED光源光谱多样,甚至有较大差异,在LED光源大规模进入文物展陈照明领域时,如何科学指导博物馆文物照明光源的研发与应用,是改善文物展陈照明环境的关键问题。该研究对常见光敏文物材料进行可见光连续辐照下表面颜色属性变化的测量研究,通过制备常用的国画颜料和植物染料样品（国画颜料主要有硃磦、赭石、三青、花青、胭脂、炭黑、曙红、酞青蓝;植物染料主要有茜草、黄檗、栀子、靛蓝、槐米、苏木、紫草）,利用不同波长单色光和不同色温复合光的LED作为光源,对样品进行大剂量连续辐照实验。辐照过程中,定期测量材料表面颜色的色度学参数L*, a*, b*,以CIE 1976 L*a*b*均匀色空间色差计算方法,求算出不同光谱的LED光源辐照后样品的色差变化。再分别从辐射度学和光度学出发,对比分析具有不同光谱的LED光源对国画颜料和植物染料的长期辐照影响。实验结果表明：不论从辐射度学还是光度学角度分析,相同辐照剂量或曝光量照射后,单色光中短波长的蓝光辐照导致样品的色差最大,绿光次之,红光最小;而在复合光中,高色温LED光源由于蓝光占比较大,对样品的辐照影响明显高于低色温LED光源;目前利用光照度对博物馆照明环境进行评价时,由于蓝光对应的人眼视见函数数值较低,与辐射照度评价相比,蓝光辐照对文物的影响会被进一步低估;相同光照条件下,植物染料的老化程度总体高于国画颜料;黄色系的植物染料（黄檗、槐米）和红色系的国画颜料（硃砂、曙红）在光照过程中更易老化。因此,博物馆展陈照明的LED光源应严格控制蓝光成分,采用低色温的光源更有助于对文物的保护。在今后制定文物展陈照明标准时,应对光源的蓝光占比进行限制。此外,对于黄色系、红色系等光敏文物进行照明时,相应的展陈照明标准应更为严格。该研究对于LED光源在博物馆照明更加合理的研发与应用,以及未来博物馆展陈照明标准改进及照明条件改善具有重要指导意义。