Panasonic employs GaN substrates to develop blue LED

Panasonic announced that it has developed a blue LED element by employing GaN substrates for the first time in the industry.

The company said the use of GaN substrates, which has very high thermal and electrical conductivity, improves the performance of LED in the high-current area and achieves the industry's top-level output. Its marked crystal stability makes it a high-reliability device, the company said. Since the substrates and light-emitting layer have the same refractive index, its light delivery efficiency is over 1.5 times that of conventional sapphire-based LED element.

The blue LED element covered with a uniform fluorescent layer enables a compact, high-power white LED with little colour variation. The company said this technology is likely to bring forward the development of new applications, such as LED-based lighting and camera flashes.

The white LED touts the industry's highest-level output, emitting light wavelength of 460nm and total radiation flux of 355mW at a forward current of 350µA, with an external quantum efficiency of 38 per cent.

In addition, it also offers high reliability based on a wire-bonding-free structure and minimal colour variation due to the formation of a uniform fluorescence layer.

Panasonic is set to mass-produce this high-power white LED by mid-March. Sample price is Rs.194.88 ($4.30).