A new type of light-emitting diode (LED) developed by a team of scientists at the Us National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) may hold the key to overcoming long-standing limitations in light source efficiency. The concept has been demonstrated in the lab with tiny leds, achieving dramatic increases in brightness and the ability to generate lasers -- all features that make it highly valuable for large-scale and miniaturized applications.

The team, which also included scientists from the University of Maryland, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center, detailed their work in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Science Advances. Their device displays 100 to 1,000 times brighter than traditional submicron LED designs.

"This is a new architecture for making leds." NIST's Babak Nikoobakht says he conceived of the new design. "We use the same materials as traditional leds. The difference between us is their shape."