Development of Technology Keeps Rocketing Along
It’s amazing to think that people existing three or four generations ago could have lived through an entire week without being witness to a major technological breakthrough. Even since EPA launched the website just over a month ago I’ve been informed of two major steps forward in the development of LEDs, bringing the possibility of their use in standard illumination ever closer. Exciting times, and maybe about to become even more so...
The latest LED breakthrough was an announcement of the first reduction in the number of LED 'bins' in the white binning space. This has been made possible because of the increased manufacturing control gained through the new Lumiramic Phosphor technology from Philips. Previously during a normal production process, optics, phosphor coatings and other components added to the original die can distort the output characteristics of each LED. They are then grouped in batches of between 1,000 to over one million according to their colour characteristics, meaning the smaller the order the greater consistency you are likely to have.
The new advance will enable customers to specify large numbers of same-coloured LEDs rather than have varying tints throughout a lighting scheme. The key to this achievement and its impact on the future for lighting is that it has been made in the white binning space, which is obviously the most widely used area of the spectrum for general (as opposed to architectural) use. It has also been the most problematic colour in the development of LEDs in terms of achieving a usable alternative to other, more energy-hungry, forms of lighting.
The latest breakthrough comes only a matter of weeks after a group of scientists at Glasgow University announced their discovery of a way to dramatically increase the efficiency of LEDs (http://www.epaonthenet.net/article.aspx?ArticleID=15852). It’s fascinating to see such rapid development in a technology over such a short period and brings to mind the ever-increasing power of computing which still seems to be holding true to Moore’s Law. To make this comparison even more vivid Philips’ press release stated that a further dramatic reduction in the bins and the size of bins is expected in the next 18 months.
The development of technology needs a central focus in order to progress it in a cohesive fashion. Much as architecture benefited from having the most brilliant talents working on the world’s religious buildings, technology in the 20th century was given a massive boost and channeling of talent during the peak years of space exploration. The amount of money poured into various areas of R&D and perhaps most importantly the globally competitive nature of the projects was a real stimulus for almost all areas of engineering. Funding and interest in this area seemed to have dwindled towards the end of the previous century, but over the past year or so things seem to be picking up again (with even the Europeans having a go!), and this can only be good news for technology as a whole.
The trickle down effect from a renewed global interest in space exploration could be huge for areas such as fuel cells, robotics, photovoltaic power, communication and many others. So, if we think the development of technology is moving swiftly at the moment, maybe (or hopefully) we’re in for a big surprise.
Enjoy the newsletter,
Richard Scott
Editor
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