Technical Articles
Thirty Years of Experience in Supplying Custom LEDs: An Interview with the Leaders of Marktech
Marktech Optoelectronics has been in the business of producing custom LEDs across nearly every industry imaginable for the last thirty years. In this Insights from Industry interview, AZoOptics speaks to Marktech’s CEO, Mark Campito, President, Bill Moore, and CTO, Vincent Forte about their extensive product range, a range of applications that is just as varied, and how they provide small to medium sized businesses with the correct LEDs for their needs.
LED Component and Assembly Miniaturization
The trend towards miniaturization in the electronics world is on-going and is fueled by a variety of factors including the consumer’s desire for portability as well as improved efficiency and reductions in costs. Over the past few years, LED (Light Emitting Diode) technology specifically, has seen tremendous growth, primarily due to the revolution in the lighting and general illumination markets. This increased interest in LEDs has also extended to a variety of other markets including military, medical and machine vision. Although LEDs are not new to these markets, their demand for smaller, higher resolution and uniform sources continues to grow.
Understanding Ultraviolet LED Applications and Precautions
Ultraviolet light occurs between the visible and x-ray spectrums. The Ultraviolet wavelength range is specified as 10 nm to 400 nm; however, many optoelectronic companies also consider wavelengths as high as 430nm to be in the UV range. Ultraviolet light gets its name due to the “violet” color it produces in the visible portion of the spectrum although much of the output of UV light is not visible to the human eye.
Understanding Compound Semiconductor Materials in LEDs
When the LED first became commercially available, over 40 years ago, no one really paid much attention to how it was made or what it consisted of chemically. This was in part due to the fact that only a few basic types and colors were available (such as GaP – red and green, and GaAsP – yellow). Today, in order to obtain new colors, or wavelengths, and improve performance and reliability, there are many new types of chemical structures being created. Because of this, LEDs are no longer referred to strictly by their color but also by their chemical name, such as InGaAlP or GaAlAs. If the user is not familiar with LED technology or does not have a degree in chemistry and materials, this hodgepodge of letters can be very confusing. The following information is provided to help alleviate some of this confusion.
Measurement of LEDs
If there were ever any question that LEDs would be such a dominating lighting technology just take a look around. They are virtually everywhere. From standard indicators on stereo equipment, laptops and toys to traffic lights, variable message signs and automotive lighting, LEDs have enjoyed an explosive growth over the last several years with no end in sight.
The History of LEDs and LED Technology
A light emitting diode (LED) is essentially a PN junction semiconductor diode that emits a monochromatic (single color) light when operated in a forward biased direction. The basic structure of an LED consists of the die or light emitting semiconductor material, a lead frame where the die is actually placed, and the encapsulation epoxy which surrounds and protects the die.
Improved Accuracy and Resolution Using Point Source Emitter Technology
LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes), semiconductor light sources, have been introduced and developed for several decades. LEDs are applied in many devices as indicators and general illumination products such as lighting components. As a “green” light source, LEDs can provide long life time and high efficiency light for many applications.
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The possibilities are limitless. If you have a project requiring custom InGaAs or silicon photodiode detectors, custom LEDs, multi-chip packages of multi-wavelength LED emitters combined with optical detectors, or custom assemblies, then please contact us for help with selecting the correct devices for your design requirements. We work on projects of any size and quantity, and while we have hundreds of standard products – customizations are our specialty.