What is an SMD LED?

What Is an SMD LED?

A Light-Emitting Diode is a solid-state electronic component that emits light when you apply an electric current. Because of their efficiency and long life, LEDs are now found in many applications once reserved for traditional incandescent bulbs, such as flashlights, car lights and lighting for your home. SMD LEDs have a sleek package style that makes them smaller, less expensive and easier to make than traditional LEDs.

Definition

SMD LEDs are light-emitting diodes that mount directly onto the surface of printed circuit boards. A printed circuit board is a flat board used to electrically connect and support electronic components. By contrast, a traditional LED has wire leads that connect the device to a circuit board; the leads make them easier for people to handle but add size and cost. SMDs do away with wire leads, making the whole package thin and flat; although their small size makes them harder for people to grasp, modern robotic circuit builders handle SMD devices easily and rapidly.

SMD LEDs Compared To Other Kinds Of Lighting

SMD LEDs are tiny devices a few square millimeters in size; because they emit light with very little heat, they have good energy efficiency. The active component in an LED is a thin sliver of silicon, making LEDs cousins to transistors and computer chips. By comparison, incandescent lights are larger and generate light by turning a thin metal filament white-hot. Most of an incandescent bulb’s light is invisible infrared, so its energy efficiency is relatively poor. Fluorescent bulbs produce light by running a current through a thin gas in a sealed glass tube. The efficiency of fluorescents is much better than an incandescent and similar to that of LEDs.

Applications

SMD LEDs can be used for aviation and automotive lighting applications and in traffic signals. SMD LEDs are also used to light up watches, transmit information from remote control units and form numbers on digital clocks.