Course Catalogue

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This course aims to introduce students to the concepts involved in lighting and the design of LED-based lighting systems. Students will study device physics, the associated electronics to drive the LEDs and integrated systems through theoretical and practical investigations. They will also explore some of the applications of solid state lighting.

Intensively taught over a period of two weeks.

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Assessment

40% Oral Presentation

50% Written Reports: Laboratory Reports (10%) and Team Project Report (40%)

10% Assessed Tutorials

As part of the grade for the laboratory reports, project reports, and oral presentation, students will evaluate the outcome of at least one of the laboratory reports via peer review, including a reflective analysis of their own strengths and weaknesses and the team as a whole as well as those of their colleagues.

Reassessment

In accordance with the University's Code of Assessment reassessments are normally set for all courses which do not contribute to the honours classifications. For non honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students, and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions are listed below in this box.

As the course grade is determined by a student's performance on the laboratories and project, it is not possible to reassess this course.

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. For non-Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below.

As the course grade is determined by a student's performance on the laboratories and project, it is not possible to reassess this course.

The aims of this course are to:

■ introduce students to the concepts involved in solid state lighting;

■ explore the design and operation of LED-based lighting through theoretical and practical investigations;

■ compare and contrast incandescent, fluorescent, and solid state lighting in terms of technological, economic, and environmental impact; and

■ demonstrate some of the applications of solid stating lighting.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ describe the economic, technological, and ecological differences between incandescent, compact fluorescent, and solid state lighting;

■ calculate the energy and spectral content of a blackbody source;

■ describe the physiological differences between photopic vision and scotopic vision and the differences in the eye sensitivity across the visible region;

■ use the chromaticity diagram to identify colours that can be combined to create white light;

■ describe the physics associated with light production in organic and inorganic LEDs and phosphors;

■ sketch energy diagrams for organic and inorganic LED structures;

■ explain several of the approaches that are used to create 'white light' using LEDs;

■ calculate the far-field emission pattern from a planar homojunction LED;

■ estimate the junction temperature of an LED and the spectral shift of the light in dc and pulsed operation;

■ measure optical and electrical characteristics of LEDs and LED light bulbs;

■ determine the power requirements for a solid state lighting implementation;

■ design, construct, and characterise electronics for solid state lighting display, which may include ac-dc and dc-dc converters, constant current and constant power drivers, and dimming circuitry;

■ describe robust wiring techniques in solid state lighting that addresses device reliability, current densities, and heat dissipation;

■ discuss the trends and challenges of solid-state lighting and areas for future research;

■ identify critical design constraints and specifications for solid state lighting applications;

■ contribute substantially to an engineering design that incorporates solid state lighting as part of a team;

■ summarise the state-of-the-art in the field based upon reviews of technical publications;

■ contribute substantially to the oral presentation and written report on the team design project.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment. In addition students must submit work for assessment for the course laboratory or a grade of credit withheld will be given.

Students must attend the timetabled laboratory classes.

Students should attend at least 75% of the timetabled classes of the course.

Note that these are minimum requirements: good students will achieve far higher participation/submission rates. Any student who misses an assessment or a significant number of classes because of illness or other good cause should report this by completing a MyCampus absence report.