LED Efficiency Surpasses 100%: A Low-Voltage Breakthrough

MIT researchers have demonstrated, for the first time, an LED that emits more optical power than it consumes, achieving an efficiency of 230%. The key is drastically reducing the applied voltage to 30 picowatts, where LED efficiency increases as output power decreases. While currently limited to low-power, dim LEDs, this breakthrough leverages excess heat from atomic lattice vibrations, opening new avenues for highly efficient electromagnetic communication and novel solid-state cooling technologies. It challenges the conventional understanding of LED efficiency being inversely proportional to brightness.