The history of LED

LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) are semiconductor light sources that emit light when powered by an electric current. The concept was discovered in 1907, but it wasn’t until after WWII that people were looking into developing commercial applications for it. Oddly enough, people could not see the light coming out of the first commercially used LEDs. They operated in the infrared space that cannot be seen by the human eye and were used in devices like remote controls. It is not a big surprise that the color of the first LEDs was red. However, LED technology (visible or infrared) was hugely expensive until 1968, so its story in practical use starts there.

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How we came to know LED

LEDs became popular in the 1970s as indicator lamps (as a replacement for incandescent bulbs) or in seven-segment displays – first in expensive equipment but later on in basic appliances including digital clocks, calculators or radios. For many years, red was the only commercially available LED color. It was only in the 1990s that blue LEDs and green LEDs became widely available. This opened the door towards creating color displays using LED. Benefits include the good energy efficiency LEDs show when high light emissions are needed. Barco recognized these benefits early on and started experimenting with the technology…
 

Barco in LED: the legend begins

The first markets for LED walls were the fixed installations (mainly for retail and public signage) and the rental markets (for tradeshows and events). Barco was an LED pioneer and launched its first product in 1998. Dlite was a very robust and reliable tile that aimed for the fixed install outdoor market and was also applicable in the rental market. The product was rather heavy to fully address the latter market though, so the company developed Ilite (2001). This panel, with pixel pitches of 6, 8, 10 and 12 mm, was a big success for rental applications and set a new standard.
 

Expanding the freedom for LED users

The story of creative LED started in 2003, with the introduction of Barco Mipix. This solution allowed curved setups and other creative forms, drastically expanding the applicability of LED. Barco went on to introduce the world’s blackest LED (the NX series). This was also a very flexible product with separate modules (9 in a frame), enabling it to fit in small rows or columns. In 2009, the NX series was upgraded to also show 3D in 120Hz.
 

Making LED easier to use

Up to that point, a big challenge for LED was the weight. Because many applications were outdoors, the tiles needed protection against all weather conditions and carried heavy aluminum enclosures and seals. In order to drastically reduce weight, Barco switched to glue and plastics instead. We developed the Typhoon test program to guarantee the validity of the tiles, ensuring safety for outdoor use. This resulted in the TF and T-series. It was this TF-series that was used for the ABSA project in Johannesburg (South-Africa), the biggest LED-installation in the world at that time. Especially the crown on top of the building was a masterpiece – and a project management nightmare. Another prestigious project was U2’s magnificent 360° tour, which used Barco’s innovative FLX series transformable LED solution.
 

LED comes into reach of many more applications

The image processors that drove LED walls at that time were tailored to the rental market and offered many possibilities – which made them rather expensive. For the fixed install market, the requirements were usually not that demanding. That is why Barco developed the Infinipix® platform. Released in 2015, this solution made LED also applicable for smaller DOOH (Digital Out-Of-Home) displays. The next year Barco introduced Flexled, a very innovative product that enabled even more freedom.
 

Where we are today

2017 saw the start of the narrow pixel pitch (NPP) era. Up to then, LED walls were intended to be viewed from a distance, but this changed with NPP. Barco’s portfolio (past and present) in this category comprises of the X series (2015), XT series (2019) and IEX series (2021). These products were designed for indoor use in applications like control rooms, corporate lobbies, boardrooms or museums.

With a track record of over 20 years with the technology, Barco is a true thought leader in LED. And we continue our pioneering role, with exciting products in our R&D pipeline that will hit the market in 2022. So stay tuned for more LED extravaganza!

To learn more about our LED portfolio, visit this page.

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The electroluminescence phenomenon was discovered in 1907 by Henry Joseph Round in a brief two paragraph note. This was the beginning of the lengthy journey towards LED screens as they are today.

The first LED was created by Oleg Losev in 1927. He investigated the effect, theorised how it worked and imagined practical applications. Then the first visible-spectrum red LED was developed by Nick Holonyak in 1962 as an alternative to infrared light. Red LEDs were first mass produced in 1968 by the Monsanto Company used as indicators. The blue LED was created in 1993 by Shuji Nakamura who then went on to win the Nobel Prize in Physics for his invention in 2014. By coating blue LEDs with phosphor it was discovered that a portion of the light can be converted to green, yellow and red light. The first white LED was presented in 1995.

Development in LED technology is rapid, particularly in terms of efficiency and brightness. Since the 1960s, a doubling of these factors has occurred roughly every 36 months. But how has all of this interlinked with the LED screens themselves?

The first true LED screen was developed by James Mitchell in 1977, going on to receive awards from NASA. It only used one colour because of the lack of efficient blue LEDs at the time however this has changed and now big screens are made up of red, green and blue LEDs. However, when discussing LED this mainly refers to LED backlighting because it involves less energy, better contrast and brightness, more colours, more rapid responses and more accurate rendering.

Discover 10 innovative examples of LED uses here or find out about Fonix’s LED screens here.

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