Appliance Design - November 2007 - (Page 18)

DISPLAYS & INDICATORS Lustrous Luminance LEDs are being used in cellphones for backlighting and aesthetic purposes such as this phone that uses Avago Technologies’ LEDs. Better and brighter LEDs expand design options. L by larry adams 18 applianceDESIGN November 2007 ED technology is improving by leaps and bounds, or, more appropriately, watts and lumens. Riding a wave of better fabrication technologies, today’s LEDs are cheaper, brighter and offer more color choices. And, they still feature inherent longevity, durability and the ability to operate at a wide — and growing wider — temperature range. The LEDs of the past were often simple devices, able to let the user know that the product was on or off, but not much else. No longer are they just an afterthought, LEDs are playing key roles in backlighting LCDs and as panel indicators — not to mention their use in illumination, signage and decoration applications. Nokia’s new 7900 Prism phone uses RGB LEDs to allow the user to select from up to 49 colors to illuminate the phone’s keypad. “It is purely aesthetic, but it makes for a nice, upscale feature,” says Keith Nowak, a senior communications manager at Nokia. “This helps differentiate the phone, which is aimed at a style-conscious consumer, from other phones on the market.” LEDs are also becoming popular choices for backlighting LCDs in larger applications. Earlier this year, Philips Electronics announced it was switching from fluorescent backlighting for larger LCD panels to LED backlighting. William Chu, regional sales manager for Kingbright Corp., City of Industry, Calif., a manufacturer of more than 28,000 types of LEDs, says that his company has started to see increased interest from electronics manufacturers, especially those that make handheld devices such as cell phones, PDAs, and digital cameras. Brightness is one of the reasons why more manufacturers are turning to LEDs. The level of brightness offered by LEDs have been rising for at least the last two decades, says Richard Saffa, vice president of Carrollton, Texas-based Optek Technology’s Visible LED Business Unit. Twenty years ago, LEDs were only about 0.2 millicandelas (mcd) in brightness. “You could barely tell it was on, but that was sufficient for applications of that time period,” he says. The low luminous levels were the result of www.applianceDESIGN.com http://www.appliancedesign.com

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Appliance Design - November 2007 Contents Editorial Shipments/Forecasts News Watch Today’s LEDs are Brighter and More Colorful than Previous Versions, Allowing Designers More Opportunities to Improve and Differentiate Their Products. When Converting from CCFL to LED Backlights in LCD Panels, New Driving Methods are Needed. Electrowetting Technology Allows Displays to be Designed in an Extensive Range of Colors. Noise Problems are Not Always Easy to Find or Fix, but Acoustic Labs Can Help Designers Ferret Out the “Good” Noise from the “Bad.” A New Sanitization Protocol for Clothes Washers Combines the Best of Three Well-Established Provisions to Ensure Efficiency, Quality and Safety. Stricter EMC Requirements Raise the Bar for Appliances with Electronic Controls and Require Testing to New Levels. Despite Added Cost and Complexity, Gas-Modulating Systems have Migrated from Large-Scale Boiler Applications to Smaller Residential and Commercial Furnaces and Appliances. A New Treatment Technology Hardens the Surface of Light Alloys such as Aluminum and Magnesium and Expands Their Potential Applications. DesignMart Advertiser’s Index Association Report: AHAM

Appliance Design - November 2007

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