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Florida State University's (FSU's) discovery has to do with replacing what is usually 4-5 layers with a single layer of inexpensive combo-organic/inorganic material that can glow red, green or blue (or all three together for white LEDs) and can be deposited at room temperature rather than at the high temperatures needed by other processes.
"LED researchers have only been using these new materials for about three years, even though its been used for solar panels for quite some time," professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at FSU, Zhibin Yu, told EE Times. "Other groups are working on it for LEDs, but they need several layers of materials making it expensive to process. We are first published group to use a single layer."
"Our new new device structure requires just mixing the organic polymer with the active inorganics, instead of using complicated structures with many layers," Yu told us, "therefore making the process inexpensive and highly manufacturable."
Beyond lowering home electricity costs, cheaper LEDs can make vertical farming more practical by supplementing daylighting.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Sunday September 06 2015, @06:07PM
If the bulbs are as cheap as incandescents, or at least significantly below $10, annual electricity cost should exceed the bulb cost.
It's been argued that vertical farming is a joke, but I think it's plausible given a set up using some sunlight, along with advanced/cheaper blue and red LEDs, and the expectation of year-round growth and less shipping costs.
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(Score: 2) by Gravis on Monday September 07 2015, @02:25PM
It's been argued that vertical farming is a joke, but I think it's plausible given a set up using some sunlight, along with advanced/cheaper blue and red LEDs, and the expectation of year-round growth and less shipping costs.
vertical farming is no joke and it's more than just plausible, it's totally doable and in some cases necessary. the only problem is that other resources are currently abundant enough that it's not worth doing. go somewhere without not much space and/or a hard environment and suddenly it's your saving grace. basically, it's going to be the best idea ever for people stuck in a hellscape.