A good old firefly. LED manufacturers strives to imitate the uninhibited light projection of the firefly abdomen. (via wiki)
Scientists and engineers have long been using nature as a guide in developing new technology. Examples of this can be found everywhere including robotics such as DARPA’s LS3 or pack-mule (Legged Squad Support System) or even in bioengineering tech such as the California Institute of Technology’s Medusoid (synthetic jellyfish). This practice isn’t lost on researchers from the University of Namur (Belgium), the University of Sherbrooke (Canada) and the European Synchrotron Research Facility (France) who came together and look to bring about brighter LED’s by mimicking a firefly’s exoskeleton. Engineers have been looking to increase the amount of light produced by LEDs using various methods and materials since they hit the mainstream commercial markets. One of the most significant problems in achieving increased brightness is that most of the light emitted is reflected back to the LED itself, due to the material the light travels through compared to just air. In a recently released paper, the researchers detailed how they looked to a species of Panamanian firefly (Photuris) to achieve a 55% increase in light emission over standard LEDs. Specifically they looked to the insect’s abdominal exoskeleton which is found to have ‘jagged misshapen scales’. Through a series of computer simulations the team found that the bug’s scales actually allowed for more bioluminescent light to escape its abdomen. They took the findings and applied the same jagged make-up to a typical gallium-nitride LED which in-turn made the semiconductor brighter. As a result of their findings the researcher’s state that their process could be adapted to today’s post-production LEDs, they also claim their way will reduce the amount of energy needed to power them.
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