Martin Schubert, a doctoral student in electrical, computer, and systems engineering, has developed the first polarized LED. It’s an innovation which promises to improve the images produced by LCD screens while also reducing energy demands – something that could boost screen size or battery life for portable devices.

The importance of Schubert’s polarized LED development is that it provides the ability to better control the direction and polarization of the light being emitted. This leads to less light source wastage with more light being used for display lighting. Shubert believes his polarized LED will produce brighter, more colorful and lifelike images with no motion artifacts.

Schubert’s initial discovery that traditional LEDs produce polarized light led him to devise an optics setup around the LED chip to enhance the polarization - creating the first polarized LED. Naturally wasting less light also means more efficient LEDs providing power saving and environmental benefits.

One manufacturer which has already moved to reduce light wastage is Epson. Their new Twin Optimized Reflection Lamp (E-TORL). By using an innovative reflector lamp arrangement Epson have reduced light wastage and produced a smaller, cooler running and more efficient projection lamp. Presentation Technology Reviews review of the Epson Powerlite S5 3LCD projector takes a closer look at this technology.

See the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute press release.