Objectives:

LED is one of the essential optoelectronic devices in the world. It can be various in color and
shape. LEDs can differ in terms of the materials employed and the structure and hence can have
varying colors, spectral power, and luminous efficiencies. The objectives of this experiment are
to:
1. To experimentally measure I-V and L-I characteristics of different LEDs

2. To analyze and compare I-V and L-I characteristics of different LEDs

Equipment used:

1. Digital Optical Power Meter Console (Thorlabs model PM100D)

2. Silicon Photodiode Sensor (Thorlabs model S120VC)
3. LEDs of different colors
4. Variable voltage source and Multimeter
5. Resistors, Bread board and connecting cables

Experimental Procedure:

The schematic of the circuit used in this experiment:

The dc voltage supply is varied until the current through the LED is significantly high. The
photodiode sensor S120VC is kept aligned with the LED and the whole setup is strictly kept in a
fixed position. The current and voltage of the LED is measured with a voltmeter. The optical
power meter PM100D measures the output power of the LED. The power meter must be tuned
to the wavelength of the received light because the absorption rate of the meter varies with
wavelength. Using this setup, several data is taken for LEDs of 4 different colors namely white,
red, green, and yellow.

Data Collection:
Table: Measured Data for the LEDs
LED Type LED voltage (V) LED current (mA) Output power (µW)
2.5 0.1 35.6
2.56 0.24 95.2
2.59 0.41 185
2.6 0.51 233.7
White LED 2.61 0.61 296
2.63 0.73 365

1.607 0.493 21.35

1.583 0.716 25.17
1.6246 0.7754 25.7
Red LED 1.638 0.862 25.96
1.645 0.975 28.2
1.67 1.125 30.3
1.7 1.3 32.4

1.77 0.73 22.71

1.8 0.8 23.68
1.82 0.9 25.32
Yellow LED 1.832 0.978 26.5
1.833 1.07 28
1.86 1.24 31.1
1.88 1.36 32.6

1.94 3.46 14.32

1.95 3.86 15.25
Green LED 1.98 4.12 15.6
1.99 4.47 15.83
2.02 4.98 17.17
2.05 5.44 17.93
Report tasks:

01. Plot the I-V characteristics of all LEDs on the same plot and comment on the results.

The I-V curves for the tested LEDs:

I-V Characteristics
6
Red
Yellow
5 Green
White

4
Current(mA)

0
1.4 1.6 1.8 2 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8
Voltage(V)

The current varies rapidly with increasing voltage. The curves suggest that the LED voltages
have crossed knee voltage. That is expected as we started to measure data when LEDs started
to glow enough. The green LED's curve is a bit unusual.

02. Plot L-I characteristics of all LEDs on the same plot and comment on the results.
L-I Characteristics
400
Red
Yellow
350
Green
White
300

250
Power( W)

200

150

100

50

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Current(mA)
The L-I curves are highly linear. This is expected from the theory of LEDs. However, there are
offsets in the lines for which received luminous power won't be zero at zero current. This is
because of external light due to the laboratory's well lighting.

03. For each LED, identify the voltages at which the LEDs start emitting a significant amount
of light. How do these voltage levels compare with the built-in voltages of the LEDs?
For this, we need to put the I-V curves and the L-V curves side by side.

I-V Characteristics L-V Characteristics

6 400
Red Red
Yellow Yellow
350
5 Green Green
White White
300

4
250
Current(mA)

Power( W)
3 200

150
2
100

1
50

0 0
1.4 1.6 1.8 2 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 1.4 1.6 1.8 2 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8

Voltage(V) Voltage(V)

The built-in voltages from the I-V curves are nearly 2.45V, 1.8V, 1.58V and 2V for white, yellow,
red, and green LEDs respectively. From L-V curves, we see that significant light output is also
obtained approximately at the built-in voltages.

04. Based on the measured results, calculate the following for each visible LED:

a. External quantum efficiency (EQE) (assume wavelength as per color of the LED)

b. Power conversion efficiency

c. Luminous efficacy

Answer:

a. External quantum efficiency = number of photons received as output / total number of

carriers injected into junction = ( Pout / h𝜈 ) / ( I / e )

For white LED, peak wavelengths observed in experiment 9 are 454nm and 560nm approx.

A weighted average of these two can be used so, 𝜆 = 0.4*454 + 0.6*560 = 517.6 nm.

For 3.18mA current theres is 200𝜇𝑊 of output power.

So, EQE = 200x10-6 / (h*c/𝜆 ) / (3.18x10-3 / 1.6x10-19 ) = 2.62%

The other color LEDs have single peak wavelength. Their EQEs for peak power are shown in the
table:
Color Wavelength, Output Power, Current, EQE
𝜆 (nm) Pout (𝜇𝑊 ) I (mA)
White 0.4*454 + 0.6*560 = 200 3.18 2.62 %
517.6 nm
Green 569 14.2 6.469 0.10 %
Red 659 28.1 0.414 3.60 %
Yellow 591 21.9 0.25 4.17 %

b. Power conversion efficiency = Output luminous power / Input electrical power

= Pout / ( I * V )

For peak output, the efficiencies for the LEDs

Color LED current LED voltage Output power Power
(mA) (V) (𝜇𝑊 ) conversion
efficiency
White 3.18 2.82 200 2.23 %
Green 6.469 2.031 14.2 0.11 %
Red 0.414 1.586 28.1 4.28 %
Yellow 0.25 1.71 21.9 5.12 %

5. Among the LEDs you measured, which one do you find to have the best figure of
merits? What might be the possible reason behind the high performance of the LED? (Hint:
relate your answer with possible semiconducting materials of the LEDs)

From the tables from task 4, it seems that the yellow color LED is the most efficient in terms of
EQE and power conversion. However, the brightness of the yellow LED is not as high as the
white LED. Though the white LED consumes more power, due to the presence of phosphor, it
radiates more. As yellow LED is typically made of GaAsP, it is more efficient.
6. Compare your measured figure of merits (FOMs) of the LEDs with FOMs of other high -
performance LEDs reported in the literature.

The FOMs observed for the tested LEDs are quite low compared to current progress in LED
designs. Thin Film Flip Chip(TFFC) LEDs made of InGaN/GaN can have extraction efficiency upto
80% [1]. LEDs with various geometric structures and made of different materials are reported in
[2]. The reported LEDs have varying extraction efficiencies from 27% to 80%. Compared to
these, our tested LEDs perform poor.

7. Why do you think it is important to choose the appropriate wavelength setting in the
power meter PM100D? (Hint: it is related to the responsivity of the photodiode sensor
S120VC)

The above figure is the responsivity of the photodiode sensor S120VC. It doesn’t absorb the
same to all wavelengths. To neutralize the effect of responsivity, proper wavelength must be
selected in the power meter PM100D. This makes the power meter use proper factors to
display correct power measure.
Discussion:

In this experiment, we have tested LEDs of 4 different colors. We measured their currents,
voltages and output radiant power. From these we plotted the I-V curves, L-I curves. We have
found the curves to match theory. Different efficiencies for the LEDs were calculated. The
efficiencies were quite low. This was because the photodiode sensor couldn’t capture all the
light coming out of the LEDs. Moreover, maintaining a fixed position of the experimental setup
was challenging. Due to all these factors, the measured quantities are not fully accurate.
However, they are accurate enough to verify theoretical concepts.

References:

[1] Dupuis, R. D., & Krames, M. R. (2008). History, Development, and Applications of High-

Brightness Visible Light-Emitting Diodes. Journal of Lightwave Technology, 26(9), 1154–

1171. https://doi.org/10.1109/jlt.2008.923628

[2] Krames, M. R., Shchekin, O., Mueller‐Mach, R., Mueller, G., Zhou, L., Harbers, G., &

Craford, M. G. (2007). Status and future of High-Power Light-Emitting Diodes for Solid-State

lighting. IEEE/OSA Journal of Display Technology, 3(2), 160–175.

https://doi.org/10.1109/jdt.2007.895339