外文翻译--LED是如何工作的.doc

英文原文 How Light Emitting Diodes Work Light emitting diodes, commonly called LEDs, are real unsung heroes in the electronics world. They do dozens of different jobs and are found in all kinds of devices. Among other things, they form the numbers on digital clocks, transmit information from remote controls, light up watches and tell you when your appliances are turned on. Collected together, they can form images on a jumbo television screen or illuminate a traffic light. Basically, LEDs are just tiny light bulbs that fit easily into an electrical circuit. But unlike ordinary incandescent bulbs, they dont have a filament that will burn out, and they dont get especially hot. They are illuminated solely by the movement of electrons in a semiconductor material, and they last just as long as a standard transistor. In this article, well examine the simple principles behind these ubiquitous blinkers, illuminating some cool principles of electricity and light in the process. What is a Diode? A diode is the simplest sort of semiconductor device. Broadly speaking, a semiconductor is a material with a varying ability to conduct electrical current. Most semiconductors are made of a poor conductor that has had impurities (atoms of another material) added to it. The process of adding impurities is called doping. In the case of LEDs, the conductor material is typically aluminum-gallium-arsenide. In pure aluminum-gallium-arsenide, all of the atoms bond perfectly to their neighbors, leaving no free electrons (negatively-charged particles) to conduct electric current. In doped material, additional atoms change the balance, either adding free electrons or creating holes where electrons can go. Either of these additions make the material more conductive. A semiconductor with extra electrons is called N-type material, since it has extra negatively-charged particles. In N-type material, free electrons move from a negatively-charged area to a positively charged area. A semiconductor with ext