Miniature spectrometers address challenges of LED research and production (MAGAZINE)

Thanks to the evolution of small, handheld spectrometers, applications such as the testing and binning of LEDs are more easily managed than with previous instruments. Indeed, spectrometers can be deployed to measure LED emission wavelengths as well as brightness and power output. To appreciate why miniature spectrometers are viable tools for LED measurement, it helps to understand the typical performance parameters being measured.

Although determining the correlated color temperature (CCT) of incandescent light sources is fairly simple, as these spectra fit nicely on a blackbody radiator curve, doing the same for fluorescent and LED light sources is much more challenging. Those sources have very different spectral shapes, making it harder to perform an accurate fit using traditional color-filter-based instruments.

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This article was published in the November/December 2010 issue of LEDs Magazine. To read the full version of this article, please visit our magazine page, where you can download FREE electronic PDF versions of all issues of LEDs Magazine. You can also request a print copy of LEDs Magazine (available by paid subscription) and sign up for our free weekly email newsletter.