發光二極體是由半導體材料所製成之發光元件,元件具有兩個電極端子,在端子問施加電壓,通入極小的電流,經由電子電洞之結合可將剩餘能量以光的形式激發釋出。其具有體積小、壽命長、低驅動電壓、耗電量低、耐震性佳等優點,2001年全球LED市場規模為37億美元,預期至2005年將成長至51.7億美元。
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor that emits visible light when an electric current passes through it. The light is not particularly bright, but in most LEDs it is monochromatic, occurring at a single wavelength. The output from an LED can range from red to blue-violet. IEK expect that the world LED industry will approximately 12 percent each year, and reach nearly $5.1 US billion by 2005.