An LED that can be integrated directly into computer chips

MIT News  December 14, 2020
LEDs can be used as proximity sensors in smartphones, distance measurement in autofocus cameras, and gesture recognizers. As they are difficult to make from silicon, the LED sensors must be manufactured separately from their device’s silicon-based processing chip making them prohibitively expensive. Researchers at MIT have designed a silicon-based LED with specially engineered junctions to enhance brightness. The LED operates at low voltage, but it still produces enough light to transmit a signal through 5 meters of fiber optic cable. They envision a day when LED technology can be built right onto a device’s silicon processor. The silicon LED could also switch on and off faster than expected. The team used the LED to send signals at frequencies up to 250 megahertz, indicating that the technology could potentially be used not only for sensing applications, but also for efficient data transmission. In addition to cheaper manufacturing, the advance could also improve LED performance and efficiency as electronics shrink to ever smaller scales. The research will be presented at an upcoming meeting…read more.

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