Published on: February 4, 2009

While some designs take decades to reach the shelves in stores the new LED light bulb is already being prototyped and readied for production. Unlike current LEDs which are being grown on sapphire wafers the Cambridge researchers managed to make them more affordable by growing them on silicone ones.  This fact makes the new kind of LEDs very affordable.

It is said they beat the fluorescent bulb in efficiency while lasting more than 60 years. The researchers also say that unlike other “eco” bulbs, they contain no mercury, proven to be very harmful to humans. They don’t flicker, while other green designs do. As well as lag, associated with fluorescent bulb is to be a thing of the past due to it’s capability of instantaneous illumination.

The new design relies on a specially formulated gallium nitride semiconductor, which builds on previous LED work.  It is brighter than traditional designs and relatively cheap from a chemical perspective, compared to more exotic chemistries.

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