What is Electroluminescence: An Introduction!

Electroluminescence is a process in which light is generated as a result of the electrons being excited either by passing electric current or when exposed to a strong electric field. In this electronic process the light emitting materials respond to the electric field applied by giving off photons producing a glow. They use very minimal power and are widely used as lights during night time, in vehicle instrument panels and as display units.


They are usually available in the form of powder or as thin films. The powder forms are used in night lights and the thin film form in all other kind of applications. The film is created by dispersing phosphorous on a transparent layer of film which is in turn enclosed with a conductive material. Copper strips are entrenched in the phosphorous layer and these give power to the light source. ` Electric supply is finally given to the lamp through an electroluminescent inverter.


The device needs high electric potential amid 60 and 600 volts. On the other hand the current drain is very minimal. When an alternate current supply is given directly it uses the same without any need for inversion. When the light is operated using a battery or any DC supply it is converted internally to AC by an electroluminescent inverter. These are highly economical when compared with traditional lights.


Electroluminescence is very popular and is used a lot in animated displays where a flasher driver is used to control the entire lighting. Here the driver is linked to an IC which is successively connected to light strips. The driver not only does the function of an inverter but also manages and controls the characters in the display. They light different EL strips in a controlled manner which produces the desired picture on the display. These lights also give off wide range of colors like red, green, blue and so on which makes it the ideal choice for displays used by children.




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