http://www.nanowerk.com/nanotechnology-news/newsid=44218.php
"A nanocrystalline material that rapidly makes white light out of blue light has been developed by KAUST researchers (
ACS Photonics)...
So-called visible-light communication (VLC) makes use of parts of the electromagnetic spectrum that are unregulated and is potentially more energy-efficient. VCL also offers a way to combine information transmission with illumination and display technologies—for example, using ceiling lights to provide internet connections to laptops.
Many such VLC applications require light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that produce white light. These are usually fabricated by combining a diode that emits blue light with phosphorous that turns some of this radiation into red and green light. However, this conversion process is not fast enough to match the speed at which the LED can be switched on and off.
“VLC using white light generated in this way is limited to about one hundred million bits per second,” said KAUST Professor of Electrical Engineering Boon Ooi.
Instead, Ooi, who is a member of the University's Photonics Laboratory, Associate Professor Osman Bakr from the KAUST Functional Nanomaterials Laboratory and their colleagues use a nanocrystal-based converter that enables much higher data rates.
The team created nanocrystals of cesium lead bromide that were roughly eight nanometers in size using a simple and cost-effective solution-based method that incorporated a conventional nitride phosphor. When illuminated by a blue laser light, the nanocrystals emitted green light while the nitride emitted red light. Together, these combined to create a warm white light."
neat! not exactly an LED, but still it seems lots of people like white light
