Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 51 (2015) 1-61

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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

ELSEVIER

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser

Light-emitting diodes' light qualities and their corresponding

scientific applications

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Naichia Yeha, Ting Jou Dingb, Pulin Yehc 1

a

Center of General Education, MingDao University, 369 Wen-Hua Road, Peetou, Changhua 52345, Taiwan, ROC b Department of Materials and
Energy Engineering, MingDao University 369 Wen-Hua Road, Peetou, Changhua 52345, Taiwan, ROC c Department of Information Management,
St. John's University, 499, Sec. 4, Tam King Road, Tamsui District, New Taipei City, 25135 Taiwan, ROC

A RTI C L E
I N F O

A B S T R AC
T

Article history:
Received 10 September 2014
Received in revised form 28
April 2015 Accepted 30 April
2015 Available online 19 June
2015

This paper reviews the studies that use LEDs based on their light qualities. The reviewed fields include agriculture, aquaculture,
phototherapy, biomedical research, biomass production, and environmental applications. The review leads to the conclusion that (1
) the most versatile and effective wavelengths are centralized in red, blue, and infrared segments; (2) UV range LEDs, while
generally used for sterilization and disinfection, are sometimes applied in biomedical treatments. With the low power output that
makes long exposure necessary to induce significant effect, UV LEDs are expected to be used more widely for bacteria
inactivation when their higher output versions are available; and (3) orange, yellow, and green LEDs are less used as the primary
light sources except for being employed in sensing device. Nevertheless, green and yellow LEDs are sometimes used to enhance
the production or certain functions of non-chlorophyll based plants.
2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords:
LED
Agriculture research Aquaculture
research Biomedical research
Environment application

Contents
Introduction56
LEDs' light qualities and their corresponding
applications.................................................................................................................................................56
2.1. Infrared
and red (630-1000 nm).....................................................................................................................................................................56
2.1.1.
Biomedical applications......................................................................................................................................................................56
2.1.2.
Agriculture and aquaculture................................................................................................................................................................56
2.2. Orange, yellow and green (500-620 nm)......................................................................................................................................................................57
2.2.1.
Sensing device.....................................................................................................................................................................................57
2.2.2.
Biomass production and fish behavior study......................................................................................................................................58
2.3. Blue (450-500 nm)........................................................................................................................................................................................................58
2.3.1.
Photocatalyst activation......................................................................................................................................................................58
2.3.2.
Plant disease control............................................................................................................................................................................58
2.3.3.
Fishery and fish behavior....................................................................................................................................................................58
2.4. Violet/ultraviolet (210-430 nm)....................................................................................................................................................................................58
Discussion..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................59
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................59
Acknowledgments...............................................................................................................................................................................................................60
References............................................................................................................................................................................................................................60

1 Corresponding author. Tel.: +11 8862 2801 3131x6823. E-mail address:

plyehmail.sju.edu.tw (P. Yeh).http://dx.doi.Org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.04.177 13640321/ 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
LEDs, as generally believed, are bright, compact and long- lasting.
They generate high light level with less heat and save on electricity.
The state-of-the-art white LED have reached luminous efficacy of
about 300 lm/W at 350 mA [1 ] at the forward voltage of about 3.1-4.0
V. Unfortunately, such LEDs' best performance occurs only at low
input power of 1-1.5 W, which means the total luminous output of a
little over 500 lm at the top. The luminous efficacy of a good
fluorescent light can reach 100 lm/W, which means a 2000 lm
luminous output for a 20 W power input. For LEDs operated within
rated voltage, efficiency droop (a drop in efficacy as the current input
increases) can drive the performance down to below 100 lm/W [2].
For example, an LED based on Nichia's 1 mm by 1 mm die that
delivered 183 lm/W at 350 mA drop to 130 lm/W at 1 A [3]. Currently,
combining multiple LEDs in one bulb to increase luminance is the
solution to avoid increasing the input current.
Iveland et al. [4] have identified the cause of such efficiency droop
and researchers are beginning to come up with possible solutions
[5,6]. Solving the droop problem would significantly reduce costs of
household LED light as fewer LEDs will be needed in each bulb.
Until then, LEDs powerful enough for general lighting are relatively
expensive and need better heat and current management than compact
fluorescent lamp of comparable luminance.
While not yet being economical enough to replace the fluorescent
light for general lighting, LEDs, which trim the need for the energy
that would have been wasted in irrelevant wavelengths, have long
being in good position to replace conventional lights in scientific
researches. This paper presents a brief development history of LEDs
by colors and reviews the researches conducted under LED light of
different light qualities (namely, infrared, red, orange, green, yellow,
blue, and ultraviolet) since the dawn of high brightness LEDs.
2. LEDs' light qualities and their corresponding applications
The colors with their respective wavelengths denoted in the
sections below are approximations since the spectrum is continuous
without obvious border line between the adjacent colors.
2.1. Infrared and red (630-1000 nm)
The first modern LEDs, which were patented in early 1960s, were
infrared and red LEDs [7], Until late 1960s, these LEDs were still
very costly and without much practical use [8]. The first commercial
LEDs were developed in late 1962 by Holonyak who combined
gallium, arsenic and phosphorus (GaAsP) to obtain a 655 nm red light
source [9], A fast growth in the use of LEDs started to take place in
the 1980s when gallium aluminum arsenide (GaAlAs) was developed.
Due to the enhanced efficiency and the multi-layer, heterojunction
structures, GaAlAs-based LEDs gave better performance over their
predecessors by more than 10 times of brightness [10], and thus
started the era when researchers everywhere began to use LEDs in
place of conventional light sources in different areas of scientific
studies.
2.1.1.
Biomedical applications
Low-level light therapy (LLLT, or photobiomodulation), uses lowenergy lasers or light-emitting diode (LED) array in the red to infrared
(IR) region (630-1000 nm), has been proved a safe and effective
method for a wide variety of medical conditions [11], As photo
treatments are generally conducted in the red to IR segment,
differentiating the conditions that need to be treated with red only or
IR only has become unnecessary.
Delivering a neuro-protective or myocardial effective amount of
light in the visible to near-infrared range to the area of the infarct
containing brain or myocardium has been demonstrated as a viable
treatment of stroke and myocardial infarction [12],

A variety of in vitro and in vivo studies used to assess the effects

of hyperbaric oxygen and near infrared (NIR) light therapy on wound
healing using various LED wavelengths, power intensities, and energy
densities have demonstrated that LED treatment enhances the natural
wound healing process significantly and return the patient to a preinjury or pre-illness level more rapidly [13], Certain tissue
regenerating genes were also found up- regulated considerably upon
the treatment of NIR LED in a genetically diabetic mouse model [14],
Lang-Bicudo et al. [15] conducted an 880 nm infrared LED array
phototherapy to study the effectiveness of oral mucositis prevention in
a cancer patient. The patient received a consecutive five- day intraoral
irradiation starting on chemotherapy day 1. During a five therapy
cycles, no oral mucositis or pain symptoms has developed.
Far-red phototherapy may improve the embryo development and
hatching rate. Yeager et al. [16] assessed the survival and hatching rate
of chickens exposed in vivo to 670-nm LED therapy and observed a
substantial decrease in overall mortality rates in the light-treated
chickens. Body weight, crown-rump length, and liver weight of the
treated samples have also increased. Light-treated chickens broke shell
earlier and had a shorter duration toward hatching.
A study that evaluated the blood vessels proliferation effects of
laser and LEDs illumination on wounds induced in rats demonstrated
that red LED-based wound therapy exhibited similar results in
angiogenesis compared to LLLT [17]. In a double-blind randomized
prospective study, Neuman and Finkelstein [18] assessed the
phototherapeutic effect of low-energy narrow-band red light on nasal
symptoms of allergic rhinitis using a LED device suitable for insertion
into affected nostril and illuminating the affected zone with noncoherent light. The result indicated that allergic rhinitis not
complicated by polyps or chronic sinusitis can be treated effectively
via a prescribed duration of narrow-band red light illumination at 660
nm.
2.12. Agriculture and aquaculture
The first LED plant factory appeared in mid-1980s when new
lighting systems were designed for plant growth in the space shuttles
and stations. The lighting sources used in such systems started from
simple red LED arrays and progresses to high brightness, multi-color
LED chip on board. Red light with supplemental blue or far-red
radiation has been the primary light mix for agriculture researches
ever since the pre-high-brightness-LED era. LEDs narrow spectral
output that overlaps the photosynthetic absorption spectrum and its
quality that allows the elimination of unusable wavelengths have
made such a durable, reliable, inexpensive, and highly efficient light
source the new favorite for indoor plant cultivation. LEDs will
eventually become economical in large scale agricultural lighting
systems in controlled environments as their performance continues to
improve.
Far red (FR) to NIR LEDs are widely used in indoor agriculture in
a variety of applications. Oat seedlings irradiated with infrared IR
LED through a visible-light-blocking filter exhibited differences in
growth and gravitropic response from those grown in darkness at the
same temperature. This result suggests that the seedlings are able to
detect IR radiation, which expands the defined range of wavelengths
involved in light-gravity interactions to include IR segment of the
spectrum [19].
An in vitro study of potato plantlets growth using white
fluorescent lamps and 660 nm red LEDs as light sources found no
significant differences in dry weight and leaf area of the plantlets in
different levels of red photon flux. The shoot length and chlorophyll
concentration of the plantlets increases with increasing 630-690 nm
photon flux. This result suggested that red light affects the
morphology rather than the growth rate of potato plantlets in vitro, and
that red LEDs can be used to control plantlet morphology in micropropagation [20].

N. Yeh et al / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 51 (2015) 55-61

Researches that include plant seedling, plant tissue culture and

growth, in addition to space agriculture [21] have shown that LEDs
have become the mainstream light source for the researches in the
agricultural fields.
While the primary light source of the biomedical and agricultural
studies reviewed in this section are IR LEDs, all these studies are not
conducted with IR alone. Combining light sources of different
wavelengths may help to discover the most favorable spectrum mix
for a given purpose. For example, red LEDs, while mixed with blue
ones, can provide effective, safe and non-painful treatment for mild to
moderate acne [22],
A research that compared the growth of strawberry plantlets under
fluorescent and different blue/red LED ratios and irradiation levels
[23] demonstrated that a strawberry plantlet culture system using LED
is advantageous for the micropropagation, the propagation of plants
via cultivating plantlets in tissue culture and then transplanting them
to their designated distinations. This study also verified that the LED
light source for in vitro plantlet culture improved the growth of the
plants in adaptation. A study that evaluated the growth and dry matter
partitioning of Hungarian Wax pepper plants grown under red LEDs
with and without supplemental blue or far-red radiation indicated that
with proper combination of blue and far-red wavelengths, red LEDs
may be suitable for the culture of plants in tightly controlled environments [24],
With the illumination as the most expensive factor of biomass
production in a closed photobioreactor, cost-effective technologies
that produce renewable energy from such biomass as algae and
microalgae continuously emerge. The superb photosynthetic capabilities and favorable carbon life cycle make algae, which can
produce lipids and hydrocarbons rapidly, a great alternative energy
source. High oil content microalgae can be produced in open ponds or
closed photobioreactors and are good sources for biofuel production.
LEDs have opened new study perspectives on modulating the
conversion of light energy and the saturation of nutrient supply.
Matthijs et al. have conducted a study that used LEDs of 659 nm with
a half-power bandwidth of 30 nm (which is optimal for exciting
chlorophylls a and b in their red absorption bands) as the light source
in indoor culture of the green alga Chlorella pyrenoi- dosa. They
demonstrated that additional supply of blue light is not needed and
that using flashing LEDs in algal culture have resulted in a significant
energy saving in comparison to luminescent light sources [25].
While studies performed under the light source of a sole
wavelength help to identify that wavelength's influence on certain
applications, researches conducted under the combination of various
colors may lead to the optimization of cultivating efficiency or
understanding of some species' light behavior patterns. A good
example comes from a fish behavior study [26] that investigates the
red, green, and blue LEDs' effects on oxidative stress in yellowtail
clownfish by measuring variety of stress indicators. The study showed
that the expressions of those indicators are significantly higher for the
red spectra than those for the other light spectra. These results indicate
that red light induces oxidative stress.
Take algae production for example, a research that used LEDs
with various wavelengths and intensities to study the light effects on
the Spirulina platensis cultivation demonstrated that red LED induces
the highest specific growth rate and that blue LED is least efficient in
photon-to-biomass conversion. The energy-to-biomass efficiency
comparison result show that red LED is most economically efficient
for photoautotrophic cultivation [27]. Koc et al. [28] recommended a
production system that uses red lights first for the desired cell
concentration and then switch to blue lights for cell size based on the
results of their study, which used red LEDs, blue LEDs, and
fluorescent lights separately in a photobioreactor to grow Chlorella
kessleri for oil content The results indicated that (1) when all these
light sources were provided with identical current, the red LED hold
the title for the highest cell number and the highest weight, while the
blue LED help to achieve the largest cells and (2) when the intensity

of these light sources were identical, the red LED, again, hold the title
for the highest weight. Another study indicated that red LEDs
enhanced the cell growth of H. pluvialis while violet and blue (380470 nm) improved the species' astaxanthin production [29].
2.2. Orange, yellow and green (500-620 nm)
Orange (590-620 nm), yellow (570-590 nm), and green (500- 570
nm) LEDs became available as the technology progressed through the
1970s. The first yellow LED was invented by Craford [30]. These
LEDs saw only a slight improvement in brightness and efficiency
during 1980s as the basic material structure remained relatively
unchanged. Later use of laser diode technology led to the development
of Indium Gallium Aluminum Phosphide (InGaAlP) LEDs. InGaAlP
made possible to design LED color via energy band gap adjustment.
Thus, green, yellow, orange and red LEDs could all be produced using
the same technology. LED light sources in three primary colors (red,
green and blue) were available for the first time after the launch of
blue-green LEDs based on aluminum gallium indium nitride
(AlGalnN) in early 1990s [31 ].
Compared to other sections of the visible spectrum, the segment
between 500 nm and 600 nm (which contains orange, yellow, and
green) has less scientific uses. Even when the LEDs in this
wavelength range are used, they are used for the purpose of control
instead of being the primary light sources for specific researches.
Nevertheless, occasions do exist when orange, yellow, or green LEDs
become the center of the stage.
22.1.
Sensing device
Portable instruments have been important in environmental
applications due to the interest in easy field deployment. Application
in photo detector for pesticide detection constitutes a good scientific
use for orange LEDs. A good example is a portable flow analysis
instrument based on LEDs and a photodiode detector devised by
R'odenas-Torralba et al. [32] for in situ photometric measurements.
The light sources used in the photometer include blue (466 nm), green
(566 nm), orange (590 nm), and red (660 nm) LEDs. The wavelengths
of these lights correspond to the respective absorption maxima of four
water quality affecting chemical species, namely, Fe 3+ (470 nm),
nitrite (546 nm), car- baryl (596 nm), and phenol (700 nm). With this
in consideration, photometers that detect different chemicals can be
formulated using LEDs of associated spectrum segments and thus
open up new applications for LEDs of less used color, such as yellow.
Yellow LEDs are sometimes used for fish spoilage monitoring or
bacteria cultivation. Pacquit et al. [33] demonstrated an on- package
sensor that monitors fish freshness. The sensor contains a pH-sensitive
dye whose maximum absorption wavelength shifts from 438 nm to
615 nm when its pH changes from acidic to basic. The spoilage can be
monitored with a reflectance colorimeter based on a photo detector
and yellow LEDs since the wavelength of yellow LEDs (590 nm)
overlaps well with the absorbance spectrum of the dye's basic form.
For those who need to understand more about the chemistry and
responsively of dye- based pH sensors, Leiner and Wolfbeis [34]
provide detail description.
2.2.2. Biomass production and fish behavior study
Yellow LEDs can be put in good use for carotenoid production
according to the result of a study that investigated the effects of eight
light sources on R. palustris growth and carotenoid content. With dark
condition as the control, the eight light sources used are incandescent,
halogen, and fluorescence lamps in addition to white, yellow, red,
blue, and green LEDs. The results show that yellow LEDs came
second to blue only in carotenoid yield [35].
Green LEDs are sometimes used in fish behavior or biomass
production research as the light source for the control groups in order
to compare the performance of other light sources. Fish have adapted

their maximum photopigment sensitivity according to their

underwater photo environments. Photoreceptors of deep sea fish have
a maximized visual contrast in the blue band, while coastal fish have
maximum sensitivity in the green band [36], The research of photo
reaction of fish may be a field that can make good uses of green
LEDs.
Since green plants reflect rather than absorbing green light, red
and IR lights play more important roles in photosynthesis compared to
green lights. However, in a study of biomass productivity and fatty
acid methyl esters (FAME) derived from intracellular lipid, green
LEDs outperformed the red ones [37]. In that study, Nannochloropsis
sp. was grown respectively under red, green, blue, and white LEDs of
various intensities. Nannochloropsis, lacks chlorophyll b and c, is able
to build a high concentration of carotenoid pigments, which absorb
green light instead of reflecting it. As a result, green light takes a
significant role and brought about the highest FAME yield in this
study.
Green light, while not as helpful as blue and red lights for the
growth of green plants, may become more significant in the researches
of carotenoid pigment-rich biomass in dense cultures as the
penetration depth of green light is over 20 times of that of red and blue
[38].

conclusion was latter confirmed by their bacterial wilt study on tomato

[51], which illustrated the spectral quality's value within a pest control
program for space-based ecological life support systems. In another
research, Schuerger et al. [52] identified that blue light dosage in the
light source are connected to the spectral quality effects on anatomical
changes in stem and leaf tissues of peppers.
The compact size of LEDs allows them to be integrated in medical
treatment device. Vreman et al. [53] patented a phototherapy garment
suitable for treatment of newborn jaundice. The garment contains a
densely packed blue LED array that emits uniform high intensity light.
The LEDs are surface-mounted to face the liner. An infant who needs
phototherapy can be wrapped inside the garment to receive the
treatment on a large area of the skin.
Prior to the high-brightness blue LED era, blue light has already
been used for the treatment of newborn jaundice and rheumatoid
arthritis. According to a 1982 study conducted by McDonald [54],
rheumatoid arthritis patients experienced a pain relief after exposing
their hands in blue light for up to 15 min. McDonald concluded that
the pain relief is due to the blue wavelength and the length of
exposure. In the set time frame, longer exposure indicates greater
chance of relief. Although the light source used in that study is not
LED, it is safe to assume that the light from blue LEDs should have
similar treatment effect.

2.3. Blue (450-500 nm)

The first blue LEDs using gallium nitride (GaN) were introduced
in 1971 by Pankove [39]. However, the light output of those devices
was too little to be put in practical use. Not until 1994 the highbrightness blue LED, which triggered significant use of blue LEDs in
scientific applications, was demonstrated by Nakamura [40], Current
bright blue LEDs are based on the wide band gap semiconductors
indium gallium nitride (InGaN 450-500 nm) and GaN (~450 nm).
Blue light is probably the most widely used for scientific
purposes. Its uses cover, among other fields, the areas of biomass
production (such as for algae growth and astaxanthin production)
[41,42] and aquaculture (such as fish larva development) [43], along
with the culture of plants in controlled environments [24],
The quality of the light-curing unit (LCU) significantly affects the
performance of dental composites polymerization. The outputs of
halogen LCUs tend to decrease with time and may cause insufficient
monomer conversion in dental composites. In the dawn of high
brightness blue LEDs, dental composite polymerization studies [4447] discovered that blue LED LCUs are more suitable for this
polymerization task as they do not have such light decreasing
drawbacks. The irradiance of LED LCUs may be relatively low, yet
they are almost as efficient as the halogen units of twice the
irradiance.
Stahla et al. [48] investigated the flexural properties of three
composites with three shades via polymerizing each with a
commercial halogen LCU and an LED LCU, respectively. In most
cases no significant differences in flexural strength and modulus was
identified between composites polymerized with either unit.
2.3.1.
Photocatalyst activation
LED is a practicable light source to activate the photocatalytic
effects of anatase titanium dioxide (Ti0 2) in both freshwater and
seawater according to a study conducted by Cheng et al. [49], These
researchers used blue LED activated Ti0 2/Fe304 particles to evaluate
the particles' photocatalytic efficiency and concluded that blue LEDs
have similar effect as UV light but cause less harm to human eyes.
2.3.2.
Plant disease control
Using LED arrays of various color to study the light quality
effects on the growth of tomato mosaic virus in peppers and powdery
mildew on cucumbers, Schuerger and Brown [50] concluded that the
quality of light may change the progress of plant disease. This

2.3.3.
Fishery and fish behavior
Lab and field tests of squids' retina responses and their light
adaptation to blue, red, and white LEDs in a water tank revealed that
blue LEDs are useful for squid gathering because the squid retina is
highly sensitive to blue wavelength and blue light has outstanding
transmission characteristic in the sea [55].
2.4. Violet/ultraviolet (210-430 nm)
Significant development of ultraviolet (UV) LEDs started in late
1990s when near-UV (UVA, 375-395 nm) LEDs were popular for
inspecting anti-counterfeiting watermarks in documents and currencies. In early 2010s, LEDs in UVC range (210-270 nm) also started
to evolve in laboratories using materials such as aluminum nitride
(210 nm) [56], boron nitride (215 nm) [57,58], and diamond (235 nm)
[59],
Administering UV light (320-350 nm), as reported, helped to
reduce the size of sebaceous glands and the amount of sebum, dirt or
lipids that may plug follicle openings [60]. A record of successful acne
treatment conducted under combined illumination of violet/ blue (415
nm) and red (633 nm) LEDs [22] suggested that replacing the laserbased light source in the device with LEDs should post no significant
down effect for similar treatments.
Bowker et al. [61 ] investigated the microbial UV dose responses
of 255/275 nm LEDs and 254 nm low-pressure mercury lamps to
establish the UV fluence response of non-pathogenic microorganisms.
The results of the study suggested that UV LEDs are suitable for
point-of-use, low flow disinfection applications although the low
power output makes long exposure necessary to induce significant
results. After comparing a 365 nm UVA-LED as a sterilization device
at its highest output with a 254 nm low- pressure mercury lamp and a
405 nm LED, Mori et al. [62] found that the 365 nm LED system was
able to inactivate a variety of bacteria depending on the UVA dosage
accumulation. They suggested that with LED's safety and compact
size, a new type of water sterilization device can be developed.
A bacteria inactivation study using UV-A (315-400 nm) and UVC (100-280 nm) LEDs indicated that the combined wavelengths of
280/365 nm and 280/405 nm are best for disinfection. No bacterial
reactivation has been detected in the targeted wastewater after 60" of
exposure [63]. A study that monitored the endurance of fecal
bioindicators and the oxidation of organic matter and aromatic
pollutant in wastewaters led to the finding that the combination of UV-

N. Yeh et al / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 51 (2015) 55-61

A and UV-C results in better microbial reduction efficiency than a

single bandwidth. The efficiency is comparable to what achievable
with the use of photocatalyst like Ti02 [64],

such effects. For interested researchers, LEDs have opened new study
perspectives via trimming the need for the energy that would have
been wasted in irrelevant wavelengths. Narrow band LEDs that rule
out non-productive spectrum not only save energy in applications that
require only specific wavelengths, but also enhance production.
4. Conclusion

3.

Discussion

Conducting a research under a sole wavelength helps to identify

the target application's most responsive spectrum. Sometimes,
however, to distinguish the influences of adjacent spectrum segments
(such as infrared and far red) to certain applications are difficult
because the spectrum is continuous with no apparent margins between
the neighboring colors. In general, photo treatments are conducted in
the red to IR segment. Therefore, differentiating the conditions that
needs the treatment of red only or IR only is not strictly necessary.
The studies reviewed in this paper and other related researches
[65] have shown that LEDs are steadily replacing low-level laser in
the area of LLLT to become the new favorite for treatment or
phototherapy of medical conditions like ischemic injury [66] and
arthritis [67]. LEDs offer an effective alternative to lasers for the
following reasons:
1.
2.
3.

LEDs offer UV, NIR, and the entire visible band, while many of
these spectrum segments are not yet available in semiconductor
laser.
LED array is much more economical than intense pulsed light
(IPL) or laser. In addition, the high reliability and long life of LED
spread the cost further.
LED's low energy level makes it safer than the traditional gas
laser. LED-based medical treatment systems do not need a high
voltage power supply as in laser-based ones.

LEDs allow spectral composition control to produce efficient

wavelength combination optimal for wound healing and can be set in
flat arrays of suitable sizes to treat wound of small or large areas.
Previous researches using full spectrum can be reexamined under
combinations of colors in order to identify the best color mix. The
researches using conventional light sources prior to the highbrightness
LED era can be repeated and verified with the new generation of high
intensity LEDs, as such researches are meant to bring additional
discoveries. For example, dermatological researches in late 1970s to
early 1980s [68-71] that used sources such as UV-A light bulb that
contains a mixture of argon, mercury and metal-halides are waiting to
be repeated and verified with a new generation of high intensity UV
LEDs. Environment disinfection studies using UV LEDs brought up
the dosage issue, whose solution is expected when UV LEDs of higher
output are accessible. This, in turn, indicates that when 250-270 nm
UV LEDs of higher output are available, they will be used widely for
disinfection and sterilization given that the photosensitivity of
microorganisms peaks at ~260 nm.
Compared to the light quality (wavelength) effects reviewed in
this paper, the photoperiod and the light intensity effects are also
worthy topics to be explored. Researchers interested in how these two
parameters affect the growth or behavior of certain species are
encouraged to expand the current studies using systematically selected
light intensities and photoperiods to establish the tendency chart of

Ever since the evolvement of high brightness LEDs in 1980s,

LEDs have been rapidly replacing their conventional counterparts and
become very common in a great variety of fields in scientific research.
These fields include yet not limited to aquaculture, agriculture,
phototherapy, medical treatment, environmental application, biomass
production, and photocatafyst activation.
Infrared and red LEDs are commonly used in the biomedical
applications that cover wound healing [72], photo rejuvenation [73],
skin condition treatment [74], along with stress and disorder relief
[75]. NIR and red are also widely used in agriculture studies that
include algaculture [76], space agriculture [77], in addition to growth
[78], tissue culture [79], disease control [80] of plants. Red LEDs are
sometimes used in fish reproduction study [81 ] as well. Red light
with supplemental blue or FR has been the primary light mix for
agriculture researches even before the high-brightness- LED era.
LED's narrow spectral output that overlaps the photosynthetic
spectrum and its characteristic that allows the elimination of nonfunctioning wavelengths have made LED the new favorite for indoor
agriculture.
Orange, yellow, and green (500-600 nm) are less used in scientific
study compared to other colors in the visible spectrum. When used,
they are often for control instead of being the principal light sources
that aims toward certain results. Sometimes, however, they do have
opportunities to become the center of the spotlight Such instances
include, but not limited to, biomass production for carotenoid and
fatty acid methyl esters yields and chemical detections in portable
instruments. Note that illumination remains as the most expensive
factor of biomass (such as algae and microalgae) production in a
closed photobioreactor even though the cost- effective technologies
that produce renewable energy from biomass continue to emerge. In
such cost point of view, green LEDs is hopeful to become more
significant in producing carotenoid pigment-rich biomass in dense
cultures as well as in fish production [82] and reproduction study
since green lights penetration depth is 20 times over that of primary
production color.
Blue light is possibly the most versatile light source. In addition to
aid the studies of photocatafyst activation as well as the investigation
of fish production, reproduction, and behavior [83]; blue LEDs have
been used in almost all fields of applications reviewed in this paper.
As for UV LEDs, they are usually applied in biomedical researches
and environmental applications, such as detection [84], disinfection
[85] and photocatafyst activation [86].
This review has demonstrated LEDs qualification for replacing
their more energy demanding counterparts in a great variety of
research fields. Since 2010, the patents for LED manufacturing have
started to expire. LED-based applications have a superior outlook in
the coming years as the costs of LEDs become lower.
Acknowledgments
This work is sponsored by ROC National Science Council under
Contract NSC102-2221-E-451-008.