LEDs are basically small diodes that produce light when an electric current passes through the semiconductor material that they are made of. It is a strong element of great durability and strength and, unlike a conventional light bulb, it has no resistance or glass to break or burn.

A diode is the simplest semiconductor device existing. It is basically a semiconductor material composed of a material of poor conductivity that has been added “impurities”. This process is known as doping, and the impurities added are only atoms of another element, modifying the conduction properties of the material. For LEDs this material is typically aluminum gallium arsenide. In the aluminum gallium arsenide pure, all atoms are bonded together perfectly, leaving no free electrons to produce an electrical current. When the material is doped, it is amended by adding balance free electrons (negative charges) or holes (positive charges). Depending on the material that is added, it changes its conductivity properties and defines the type of semiconductor that is being created.