Dr. Yue Kuo, a professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University and an IEEE Fellow, presented an invited talk on his solid-state incandescent-light emitting device (SSI-LED) at the annual International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) in San Francisco.
A magnifying glass is needed to see the detail of this new type of light-emitting device, engineered by a Kuo, who calls his invention “very environmentally friendly” and a solid-state version of Edison’s first commercially viable electric light bulb.
Kuo’s device mimics natural sunlight more realistically than fluorescent light, he said, adding that the SSI-LED exceeds the 2,000-hour lifespan of a traditional incandescent light bulb, nearing 10,000 hours and counting. His device also does not contain toxic chemicals like those often used in fluorescent light bulbs or in the fabrication process of conventional LED.
Silicon chips, thin film and other materials create the core of the device. Each filament registers at approximately 20 volts, is 20-150 nanometers in diameter and 10 nm in length. The device itself measures 25-300 micrometers in diameter, composed of numerous heat-conductive filaments.
Efficiency is an area of continued evaluation. Kuo said,
"This is first a proof of concept, and totally different technology than ever before," he said. "One hundred years ago no one knew about nanotechnology."